Latest news with #SenateCommerce
Politico
6 days ago
- 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.
Axios
23-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
White House AI plan focuses on beating China
The White House's AI action plan released on Wednesday focuses on beating China and accelerating the tech's advancement in the U.S. Why it matters:"Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan" at its core gives industry the green light to move as rapidly as it wants, all in the name of global competition. The big picture: Industry has been eager for the long-awaited plan to get a sense of what direction the Trump administration wants to go on AI, and just how it aims to differ from the Biden-era focus on safety. President Trump is set to appear at an event in Washington later on Wednesday with top tech leaders to discuss the document. The plan lays out the administration's aspirations for AI with specific goals that officials believe can be completed in Trump's second term. Driving the news: As Axios first reported last week, the plan ordered in Trump's January AI executive order is largely about messaging a hands-off, pro-growth approach to AI. The report focuses on three main "pillars" of accelerating AI innovation, building American AI infrastructure and leading in international AI diplomacy and security. What's inside: The report highlights four key policies: exporting American AI, promoting rapid buildout of data centers, enabling AI innovation and adoption, and free speech in frontier models. The action plan states that "the Federal government should not allow AI-related federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds, but should also not interfere with states' rights to pass prudent laws that are not unduly restrictive to innovation." It's a nod to what Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz tried to do via reconciliation, but faced too much backlash. The administration will put out a request for information on federal regulations it views as impeding AI innovation. Per the report, any state laws that the Trump administration deems in conflict with the federal standards set out in the Communications Act could be used as the basis to deny funding. OMB will work with all federal agencies with AI-related discretionary funding to ensure "they consider a state's AI regulatory climate" when making funding decisions. AI and free speech: At the federal level, the plan calls to change procurement standards for AI deemed too liberal or "woke" and to update the AI risk management framework to delete mentions of DEI, misinformation and climate change. Encouraging open-source AI: The plan aims to help startups and academics get access to compute via private-public partnerships at NAIRR, Commerce, OSTP and the National Science Foundation. The plan also urges various departments to adopt programs that will train people to work in AI jobs and prioritize government investment in emerging technologies like drones and self-driving cars. Export controls: Per the report, "the United States must meet global demand for AI by exporting its full AI technology stack— hardware, models, software, applications, and standards—to all countries willing to join America's AI alliance." What we're watching: At an event later on Wednesday, Trump is slated to sign executive orders to give agency directives for the AI action plan.
CNN
21-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Key senator makes bipartisan plea to Trump to invest in weather and early warning networks
A prominent senator is calling on President Donald Trump to reverse course on his proposal to slash the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making a case for America to be a world leader in the weather forecasting space instead. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and the ranking member of the Senate commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, is advocating that the administration work with Congress to pursue bipartisan investments and outlined her plans in a letter addressed to Trump sent Monday. The letter spells out five recommendations to improve America's weather forecasting infrastructure, such as collecting far more observations and modernizing alert systems. The letter comes in the wake of devastating flash floods in Texas on the night of July 4 that killed more than 130 people. It also is being sent at a time when the Trump administration has reduced staffing at the National Weather Service and proposed even more significant cuts, such as eliminating NOAA's research arm and shutting down its many research centers. These labs contribute to forecast, technology and warning improvements. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. All told, the Trump White House's budget proposal would shave off about $1.7 billion from the NOAA budget, about a 27% cut from current levels. Cantwell does not push back against the cuts in the letter but rather pitches an investment plan to try to appeal to the administration's desire to make America the leading nation again in many areas. 'We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the world's best weather forecasting system that would provide Americans with much more detailed and customized alerts days instead of minutes ahead of a looming extreme weather event,' Cantwell wrote. A noteworthy omission from the letter is any reference to climate change and the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events. The administration has taken a host of actions to rollback climate regulations and stifle climate science research at multiple agencies. The Texas floods have raised questions about NWS readiness for extreme weather events in the wake of staff cuts. The agency is scrambling to hire about 150 forecasters to fill the most critical gaps left by layoffs, early retirements and other incentives the Trump administration offered people to leave government service. Even with 150 new hires, who will take time to train, the NWS will still be more thinly staffed than at the start of the Trump administration. Prev Next The letter endorses next generation weather satellites, radars and new hurricane hunter aircraft to replace the current aging fleet, along with computing capabilities to catch up with, and eventually pass, the superior accuracy of European forecast centers. It also puts an emphasis on modernizing weather alert systems — a key topic in the wake of the disaster in Texas. Notably, it also endorses putting more money, not less, into 'basic and applied research.' Cantwell is in step with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Senate Commerce Committee, who rejected most of the administration's proposed cuts in an initial fiscal year 2026 spending bill. House appropriators did the same, although the Trump administration has indicated it may seek other ways to restrict funding for agencies such as NOAA. 'Americans should have the best weather system. Why not?' Cantwell said on CNN this morning.
CNN
21-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Key senator makes bipartisan plea to Trump to invest in weather and early warning networks
Donald Trump Climate change Storms Congressional newsFacebookTweetLink Follow A prominent senator is calling on President Donald Trump to reverse course on his proposal to slash the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making a case for America to be a world leader in the weather forecasting space instead. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and the ranking member of the Senate commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, is advocating that the administration work with Congress to pursue bipartisan investments and outlined her plans in a letter addressed to Trump sent Monday. The letter spells out five recommendations to improve America's weather forecasting infrastructure, such as collecting far more observations and modernizing alert systems. The letter comes in the wake of devastating flash floods in Texas on the night of July 4 that killed more than 130 people. It also is being sent at a time when the Trump administration has reduced staffing at the National Weather Service and proposed even more significant cuts, such as eliminating NOAA's research arm and shutting down its many research centers. These labs contribute to forecast, technology and warning improvements. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. All told, the Trump White House's budget proposal would shave off about $1.7 billion from the NOAA budget, about a 27% cut from current levels. Cantwell does not push back against the cuts in the letter but rather pitches an investment plan to try to appeal to the administration's desire to make America the leading nation again in many areas. 'We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the world's best weather forecasting system that would provide Americans with much more detailed and customized alerts days instead of minutes ahead of a looming extreme weather event,' Cantwell wrote. A noteworthy omission from the letter is any reference to climate change and the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events. The administration has taken a host of actions to rollback climate regulations and stifle climate science research at multiple agencies. The Texas floods have raised questions about NWS readiness for extreme weather events in the wake of staff cuts. The agency is scrambling to hire about 150 forecasters to fill the most critical gaps left by layoffs, early retirements and other incentives the Trump administration offered people to leave government service. Even with 150 new hires, who will take time to train, the NWS will still be more thinly staffed than at the start of the Trump administration. Prev Next The letter endorses next generation weather satellites, radars and new hurricane hunter aircraft to replace the current aging fleet, along with computing capabilities to catch up with, and eventually pass, the superior accuracy of European forecast centers. It also puts an emphasis on modernizing weather alert systems — a key topic in the wake of the disaster in Texas. Notably, it also endorses putting more money, not less, into 'basic and applied research.' Cantwell is in step with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Senate Commerce Committee, who rejected most of the administration's proposed cuts in an initial fiscal year 2026 spending bill. House appropriators did the same, although the Trump administration has indicated it may seek other ways to restrict funding for agencies such as NOAA. 'Americans should have the best weather system. Why not?' Cantwell said on CNN this morning.
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Trump's Auto Safety Pick Promises Rapid Self-Driving Deployment
President Donald Trump's choice to lead the nation's top car safety regulator pledged to prioritize safety while at the same time making it easier for automakers to deploy-self driving cars. Jonathan Morrison, who was nominated by Trump on February 11 to be administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told lawmakers in a hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee Wednesday that the agency he hopes to soon lead should craft self-driving rules that go beyond the current voluntary guidelines that were enacted under previous administrations.
