Trump campaign vs. Trump administration: on Technology
Charles Schumer:
$30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel
President Trump is pushing congressional Republicans not to fund a crucial infrastructure project--a long-delayed $30 billion plan to build a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey.The motivations behind Trump's opposition are not entirely
clear. It is a direct challenge to a key political rival, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), who has been among the most powerful and vocal backers of federal funding for the project.
Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo
(D-NY) visited the Oval Office this year with Schumer, a sometimes friend and sometimes foe of the president. After their last Oval Office meeting, officials left saying that Trump was on board with the project.
Some on Capitol Hill think that
Trump is using his opposition to funding the project as a bargaining chip to get Schumer and other congressional Democrats on board with a much larger infrastructure bill that would move through Congress this year.
Source: Washington Post, "NY-NJ Tunnel" on 2018 Trump Administration
Mar 2, 2018
Charles Schumer:
Public-private partnerships allow "Trump tolls" for cronies
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said that her department is partnering with private industry to implement innovations like Hyperloop and high-speed rail. The key to these futuristic leaps in transportation and infrastructure, said Chao, is to allow
the private sector to invest and innovate. "Unfortunately, many of our states don't allow the private sector to invest in infrastructure. The reality is that we cannot fund $1.5 trillion in direct federal funding," she saidA number of Democratic
elected officials have fought against partnering with private companies, arguing that this isn't free money. Companies that invest in infrastructure, they say, want something back in return. They have also argued that private partnerships could lead to
a rise in cronyism.
Senator Chuck Schumer said that this kind of partnership would lead to Trump creating "a plan to appease his political allies, not to rebuild the country," and that these companies would levy "Trump tolls" throughout the US.
Source: Newsweek's Nicole Goodkind on 2018 Trump Administration
Sep 24, 2018
Chris Christie:
$30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel
President Trump is pushing congressional Republicans not to fund a crucial infrastructure project--a long-delayed plan to build a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey. The $30 billion Gateway project would construct a tunnel into New York's
Penn Station to supplement two aging tubes that are at risk of failing.But the Gateway project has had powerful Republican backers, including former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
Trump has been lured to support the project by New York and
New Jersey politicians, including Christie (R-NJ), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). Christie led a delegation to the Oval Office this year with Schumer. They engaged in
chitchat with the president about New York infrastructure, with the president even asking somewhat technical questions about building tunnels. After their last Oval Office meeting, officials left saying that Trump was on board with the project.
Source: Washington Post, "NY-NJ Tunnel" on 2018 Trump Administration
Mar 2, 2018
Daniel Coats:
China as well as Russia use cyber-attacks against democracy
Daniel Coats sounded the alarm about foreign interference in the U.S. democratic process--but he wasn't talking about Russia this time. Coats dedicated most of his 10-minute keynote address at The Citadel Intelligence and Cyber Security Conference to
discussing the ambitions & strategies of China in the areas of cyberwarfare and intelligence gathering. "In recent months, I have spoken out candidly about the persistent and pervasive Russian effort to undermine our democracy. This challenge continues
to be at the forefront of our current threat environment," Coats said, alluding to public pronouncements about the 2016 election process that put him at odds with President Donald Trump this summer."Having said this, we also face a separate
challenge that is more methodical than the threat posed by Russia," Coats said, later adding: "In contrast to Russia, China often executes its strategy in a more deliberate and subtle manner that tends to generate less media and public attention."
Source: Charleston Post and Courier on 2018 Trump Administration
Sep 25, 2018
Donald Trump:
New roads & airports & tunnels & railways all across America
America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and
airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work--rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.
Source: 2017 Trump Inaugural address at presidential Inauguration
Jan 20, 2017
Donald Trump:
Repeal internet privacy rules: let companies sell ad info
President Trump signed a bill repealing internet privacy rules passed last year that would have given internet users greater control over what service providers can do with their data. The FCC regulations would have required broadband companies to get
permission from their customers in order to use their "sensitive" data--including browsing history, geolocation and financial and medical information--to create targeted advertisements.The bill uses a little-known tool called the
Congressional Review Act (CRA) that allows the president to overturn recently passed agency regulations. Before Trump took office, the CRA had only been successfully passed once, under Pres. Bush in 2001. Trump has signed 10 bills overturning
Obama-era regulations, including the internet privacy rule.
The bill caused an uproar when it passed the House and Senate last month, with critics accusing Republicans of selling their constituents' privacy.
Source: The Hill analysis of 2016-17 Trump Administration
Apr 3, 2017
Donald Trump:
Assign high-priority infrastructure projects
Trump signed a burst of executive orders within just his first three weeks to undo many of President Barack Obama's regulatory policies. Here's an overview:Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High-Priority Infrastructure Projects:
Signed: Jan. 24, 2017
The order outlines how the administration will expedite environmental reviews and approval of "high priority" infrastructure projects, such as repairs to bridges, airports and highways.
The order directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), within 30 days of a request, to determine a project's environmental impact and decide whether it is "high priority." Project review deadlines are to be put in
place by the CEQ's chairman.
The order is widely believed to have been issued in response to the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, [an incomplete project for shale oil which many protest on environmental grounds].
Source: NBC News on 2017 Trump Administration promises & actions
Feb 14, 2017
Donald Trump:
No to $30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel
President Trump is pushing congressional Republicans not to fund a crucial infrastructure project--a long-delayed plan to build a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey. The $30 billion Gateway project would construct a tunnel into New York's
Penn Station to supplement two aging tubes that are at risk of failing.The project is widely considered to be among the most pressing and most expensive infrastructure needs in the country, and state and local leaders have long sought federal funding
to jump-start work on it. But the Trump administration threw the project into doubt late last year by casting aside an agreement reached during the Obama administration that would have the federal government pick up half the project's cost.
And now, Trump has taken a personal interest in making sure no federal dollars flow to a project that is considered critical to his hometown's long-term economic prosperity. The motivations behind Trump's opposition are not entirely clear.
Source: Washington Post, "NY-NJ Tunnel" on 2018 Trump Administration
Mar 2, 2018
Donald Trump:
Let US companies work in China with proprietary technology
Trump's second round of tariffs on imports worth $200 billion--and a threat that the US would "immediately pursue phase three" if China retaliates--shows his administration's determination to force Beijing to allow US companies to operate in China as
Chinese companies can in America. China restricts foreign participation in key sectors including media and car manufacturing, under Beijing's agreement to join the WTO in 2001. In many cases, these restrictions force foreign companies to form joint
ventures and turn over proprietary technologies to their local partners to tap the Chinese market."For months, we have urged China to change these unfair practices, and give fair and reciprocal treatment to American companies," Trump said in a
statement. "We have been very clear about the type of changes that need to be made, and we have given China every opportunity to treat us more fairly. But, so far, China has been unwilling to change its practices."
Source: South China Morning Post on 2018 Trump Administration
Sep 17, 2018
Elaine Chao:
NY-NJ Tunnel means less funding for other projects
Opposition to the Gateway project [a $30 billion connector between New York and New Jersey] has lingered elsewhere in the administration. And according to a Democratic congressional aide, Transportation Secretary
Elaine Chao has told lawmakers that funding the Gateway project means less money will be available to fund smaller projects in their districts.
The House included $900 million in potential funding for Gateway in a spending bill that it passed in September. But an amendment backed by 155 Republicans and four Democrats attempted to strip the funding from the bill.
The legislation has not been taken up in the Senate.
"North Carolina and the other 48 states should not have to foot the bill for this hall of fame earmark," said Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who offered the amendment.
Source: Washington Post, "NY-NJ Tunnel" on 2018 Trump Administration
Mar 2, 2018
Elaine Chao:
Make self-driving cars a reality, and quickly
The Trump administration wants to make self-driving cars a reality, and quickly. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao made a push for the driverless vehicles. "We're being petitioned now by equipment manufacturers and tech companies to redesign the way
cars look," she said. "The cars of the near future won't have driver side rearview window; they will look like living rooms."Chao explained that while the DOT is tasked with addressing "legitimate customer concerns of safety, security and privacy,"
its ultimate task is to "make sure we're not hampering this innovation." Her department will roll out new voluntary guidelines for autonomous vehicles in an effort to increase flexibility around limitations on new technologies and to encourage the quick
rollout of driverless cars.
The vast majority of car accidents occur due to human error, Chao said, and automated technology in the car can make driving safer while "giving back freedom to the disabled and enabling the elderly to lead a full life."
Source: Newsweek's Nicole Goodkind on 2018 Trump Administration
Sep 24, 2018
Larry Kudlow:
China tariffs to stop transfer of intellectual property
American retailers have opposed Trump's use of punitive tariffs, which are intended to force Beijing to ease restrictions on foreign companies operating in China and end rules that effectively force the transfer of foreign intellectual property to
Chinese joint venture partners.Trump and his closest advisers, including Larry Kudlow, the National Economic Council director, have disregarded warnings that tariffs will raise costs for US companies and consumers.
China was the "biggest culprit"
in terms of doing damage to the global trading system, Kudlow said. "The reality is we cannot permit the theft of our intellectual property. We must strive for American ownership of American companies in China," he added.
"We are willing to talk with
China any time if they are willing to move towards serious talks to remedy the trade problems," Kudlow said. Trump's negotiating team wants Chinese counterparts to "just say yes to a couple of things & then we can move ahead."
Source: South China Morning Post on 2018 Trump Administration
Sep 17, 2018
Mike Pompeo:
Re-establish collection of all metadata; make it searchable
On government surveillance programs: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked Pompeo to elaborate on a recent op-ed that he wrote in The Wall Street Journal, in which he argued, "Congress should pass a law re-establishing collection of all metadata, and combining it
with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database. Legal and bureaucratic impediments to surveillance should be removed."
Pompeo, in response to Wyden, said, "I still continue to stand behind the commitment to keep Americans safe, and by conducting lawful intelligence collection." He added, "as the director of CIA, you have my assurance that we will not engage in unlawful
activity. [But] if someone's out there on their Facebook page talking about or plotting an attack on America, I think you would the director of the CIA and the intelligence community grossly negligent if they didn't pursue that information."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings
Jan 13, 2017
Rodney Frelinghuysen:
$30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel
President Trump is pushing congressional Republicans not to fund a crucial infrastructure project--a long-delayed plan to build a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey. The $30 billion Gateway project would construct a tunnel into New York's
Penn Station to supplement two aging tubes that are at risk of failing.But the Gateway project has had powerful Republican backers, including former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen
(R-NJ), who represents thousands of suburban constituents who rely on the Hudson River rail tunnels for their daily commutes to and from Manhattan.
Congressional appropriators, with Frelinghuysen's backing, are looking to spend at least $950 million
in federal funds on the Gateway project in the coming omnibus spending bill. Lawmakers are expected to pass the legislation ahead of a March 23 government shutdown deadline.
A spokeswoman for Frelinghuysen declined to comment.
Source: Washington Post, "NY-NJ Tunnel" on 2018 Trump Administration
Mar 2, 2018
Steve Mnuchin:
Infrastructure bank to fund federal projects
Before the election Trump criticised his opponent's plan for an infrastructure bank "controlled by politicians and bureaucrats" and proposed using tax credits to encourage private investment instead.
Yet Mnuchin suggested in mid-November that the incoming administration is looking at starting an infrastructure bank after all.
Source: The Economist newsmagazine coverage of 2016 Trump transition
Dec 3, 2016
Ted Budd:
Don't make 48 other states pay $30B for NY-NJ Tunnel
Opposition to the Gateway project [a $30 billion connector between New York and New Jersey] has lingered elsewhere in the administration. And according to a Democratic congressional aide, Transportation Secretary
Elaine Chao has told lawmakers that funding the Gateway project means less money will be available to fund smaller projects in their districts.
The House included $900 million in potential funding for Gateway in a spending bill that it passed in September. But an amendment backed by 155 Republicans and four Democrats attempted to strip the funding from the bill.
The legislation has not been taken up in the Senate.
"North Carolina and the other 48 states should not have to foot the bill for this hall of fame earmark," said Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who offered the amendment.
Source: Washington Post, "NY-NJ Tunnel" on 2018 Trump Administration
Mar 2, 2018
Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024