Latest news with #ScienceandTransportationCommittee
E&E News
30-07-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
NOAA, transportation nominees clear Senate panel
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved President Donald Trump's nominee for NOAA administrator Wednesday with bipartisan backing. The panel advanced Neil Jacobs by voice vote, but Democratic Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, all of whom represent states facing acute risk from sea-level rise and intensifying coastal storms, asked to be recorded as opposing the pick. Ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), however, expressed support for Jacobs despite continued reservations about the nominee, who also served as NOAA administrator in the first Trump administration. Advertisement 'The NOAA position could never be more important, and while we may have some differences with Dr. Jacobs … I believe that he is in agreement on what NOAA's priorities should be,' Cantwell said.
Politico
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
NOAA places two veteran officials on leave
CNN first reported the administration's move. Dillen and Volz did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It comes less than a week before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee takes up the confirmation of Neil Jacobs, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead NOAA as its administrator. Jacobs served as NOAA's acting administrator during Trump's first term, where he found himself embroiled in the 'Sharpiegate' scandal, in which he and another NOAA official, Julie Roberts, were accused of pressuring scientists to alter the forecast of Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which killed dozens of people. Jacobs and Roberts were attempting to align the forecast with statements made by Trump, who said in the Oval Office that the hurricane would hit Alabama. In 2020, Volz led the investigation into Jacobs and Roberts, and found that the two officials violated the agency's 'scientific integrity policy.' Rick Spinrad, the former NOAA administrator under the Biden administration, said he worked closely with Volz and Dillen, and neither had expressed any opinions about the 'Sharpiegate' incident, 'I mean, these are just rock solid people,' Spinrad said. With respect to Dillen, Spinrad said: 'I relied on him heavily for his legal expertise and his acumen regarding case law.' Spinrad said he 'would characterize Steve Holz as one of the most dedicated, smartest and most savvy people I worked with.' 'This is going to be a big loss for the agency for these two people to be sent packing,' Spinrad said.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate parliamentarian greenlights AI moratorium again
A provision that bars states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) for a 10-year period can remain in President Trump's sweeping tax package, the Senate parliamentarian determined Friday. The decision, announced by Senate Budget Democrats, once again found the moratorium clears a procedural hurdle known as the Byrd Rule. The provision's future in the reconciliation bill appeared in danger Thursday, after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough asked Senate Commerce, Science and TransportationCommittee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to rewrite the measure. It had initially been cleared by the Senate referee last weekend, after Cruz altered the language to tie the moratorium to federal funding. The most recent language banned states from regulating AI models and systems if they want access to $500 million in AI infrastructure and deployment funds. However, the parliamentarian voiced concerns about the provision when she met with Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, on Wednesday night, Cantwell told reporters Thursday. Democrats had argued the measure would impact $42 billion in broadband funding in violation of the Byrd Rule. MacDonough's latest approval notes that the provision 'does not violate the Byrd Rule as long as the conditions only apply to the new $500 million provided by the reconciliation bill,' according to a press release from Senate Budget Democrats. The Byrd Rule, which determines what can be voted on as part of the budget reconciliation process with a simple-majority vote, has represented a key hurdle to Republican priorities as they rush to pass Trump's spending bill by his self-imposed deadline of July 4. While the AI moratorium has cleared the Byrd Rule, it may still face additional hurdles, with several House and Senate Republicans voicing opposition to the measure. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have all come out against the provision. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
06-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Senate Republicans propose alternative to scale back AI provision in Trump bill
Senate Republicans propose alternative to scale back AI provision in Trump bill Show Caption Hide Caption Hakeem Jeffries backs Elon Musk's call to 'kill' Trump's tax bill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries backed Elon Musk's call to "kill the bill", saying Trump's tax plan will harm Americans. WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans modified language around a controversial artificial intelligence provision in President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and domestic policy bill after it prompted backlash from both Democrats and Republicans. AI has long been a subject of controversy due to national security and child safety risks posed by the technology, including the rise of deepfakes, misinformation and scams. The Trump administration's stance on AI has largely aligned with that of companies, arguing that regulation would stymie innovation. But the provision in the bill has been a point of contention among lawmakers as many contend that AI technology is still new and needs to be under state regulation. The provision in the House bill passed by the lower chamber on May 22 would have prohibited states from enforcing any law or regulation 'limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating" AI models, AI systems or automated decision systems affecting trade, transportation or traffic for a ten year period. Republicans on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, however, released their draft text of Trump's bill on June 5 proposing to tie the ban to federal funding. States who comply with the decade-long AI regulation freeze can receive grant money from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The program is a $42.45 million initiative to expand high-speed Internet access nationwide, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The Senate proposal says that grantees can use the funds to 'construct and deploy infrastructure' regarding AI systems. The Senate proposal is a large step away from the original provision, which lawmakers across the aisle raised concerns about. Conservative firebrand Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she wouldn't have voted for the House bill if she'd known about it. 'We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years and giving it free rein and tying states hands is potentially dangerous,' she wrote in a tweet on June 3. California Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said at a presser on June 4: 'I agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene once every hundred years. This is that time.' Texas Rep. Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued that 'writing big tech companies a blank check to exploit AI however they want - that's contrary to what the vast majority of American people want.' Though House Freedom Caucus member Texas Rep. Chip Roy voted in favor of the bill, he echoed similar sentiments, telling reporters that governors should be able to 'protect their own constituencies, particularly on a technology that is very new and fluid.' It still remains to be seen whether the proposal will be included in the final version of the Senate bill before it is voted on by lawmakers. Trump and GOP leaders have set a self-imposed deadline of July 4 to try to get the tax bill through both chambers of Congress and to the president's desk for signature into law.
E&E News
06-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Latest megabill text targets NOAA funds, leaves out EV fee
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's portion of Republicans' party-line budget bill would repeal hundreds of millions of dollars for science and climate programs while effectively eliminating a federal fuel efficiency regulation. The text, unveiled Thursday, contains many of the provisions included in both the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce committees' portions of the GOP's sweeping reconciliation bill but leaves out a section intended to implement new fees on electric vehicles and hybrids. Senate Republicans' proposal comes as the upper chamber is racing to tweak and ultimately pass President Donald Trump's tax, energy and national security package before the end of the month. By combining the administration's priorities in a budget reconciliation bill for the current fiscal year, lawmakers can get around the Senate's filibuster rules and pass the package with a simple majority. Advertisement 'The Commerce Committee section invests in bold and transformational policies that will positively impact Americans now and for generations to come,' Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement.
