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U.S. Senate committee postpones vote on Denver airport chief’s nomination to lead FAA
By: Jacob Fischler - March 22, 2023
The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee postponed a scheduled vote Wednesday on Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington’s nomination to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. The panel’s chairwoman, Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell, said the vote would be held at an unspecified future date and offered few details about why it was pushed. The […]
Trump’s possible arrest by Manhattan DA blasted by U.S. House GOP leaders
By: Jacob Fischler - March 21, 2023
Former President Donald Trump’s claim that he would be arrested Tuesday had not materialized by early evening on the East Coast, but U.S. House Republicans harshly criticized any such move as an abuse of prosecutorial authority. In an all-caps post to his social media site, Truth Social, on Saturday, Trump predicted that he would be […]
U.S. Senate leader calls for safety audit into all major railroads after Ohio derailment
By: Jacob Fischler - March 15, 2023
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Wednesday for the federal authority responsible for determining the causes of transportation casualties to investigate the safety culture at all major North American freight railroads. Following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Schumer, a New York Democrat, said […]
States to receive $2.5B from feds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure
By: Jacob Fischler - March 14, 2023
The federal government will send $2.5 billion over the next five years to states, local governments and tribes to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. The new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, which was authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will spend $2.5 billion over five years to build […]
U.S. House votes to roll back Biden’s WOTUS rule
By: Jacob Fischler - March 10, 2023
The U.S. House voted Thursday to undo a Biden administration definition of wetlands that allows for regulations on private lands. The chamber approved, 227-198, a resolution to roll back the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s broader definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, for the purposes of federal regulation under the Clean […]
Head of Denver airport doesn’t need waiver to lead the FAA, Biden administration says
By: Jacob Fischler - March 10, 2023
President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration — the CEO of Denver International Airport — does not need a congressional waiver to allow him to serve in the role, the U.S. Transportation Department’s top lawyer said in a letter to Congress. Federal law requires the FAA administrator to be a civilian and […]
Norfolk Southern CEO apologizes for Ohio crash, but won’t back bipartisan rail safety bill
By: Jacob Fischler - March 9, 2023
The CEO of Norfolk Southern, the railroad operating the train that last month derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, apologized for the derailment at a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday, but declined solicitations to endorse a bipartisan rail safety bill. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw opened his testimony to the Senate Environment and […]
U.S. Senate Democrats back FAA nominee, despite GOP attacks at confirmation hearing
By: Jacob Fischler - March 1, 2023
Republicans on a U.S. Senate panel raised several objections Wednesday to President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, while Democrats indicated their support and called the objections “fake scandals” meant only to create a political controversy. The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s confirmation hearing for Phil Washington, CEO of Denver International Airport, […]
Ethanol touted at U.S. Senate hearing for possible national clean fuels standard
By: Jacob Fischler - February 15, 2023
A national clean transportation fuel standard should include enough flexibility to allow for biofuels and other non-electric-vehicle solutions, bipartisan members of a U.S. Senate panel said Wednesday. The United States doesn’t have a national clean fuels standard, though senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee hinted that one may be in the works. Members […]
Midwestern, Western states in spotlight after mystery flying objects shot down by military
By: Ashley Murray and Jacob Fischler - February 13, 2023
WASHINGTON — Military posts in Midwestern and Western states played key roles in the unprecedented downings of multiple unmanned aerial objects over the North American continent during the weekend. Members of Congress and governors from the states involved and from both parties have shared information about the downings on Twitter and in statements, in some […]
Longtime tensions over federal wetlands rule return in U.S. House WOTUS hearing
By: Jacob Fischler - February 8, 2023
A U.S. House panel renewed the decades-long fight Wednesday over how standing waters on farmland and other private property should be defined and regulated by federal authorities, with Republicans calling for a pause until the U.S. Supreme Court can provide more clarity. The definition of so-called Waters of the United States, or WOTUS — wetlands […]
Biden in State of the Union address draws boos and shouts from a combative GOP
By: Jacob Fischler and Ashley Murray - February 7, 2023
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden began his State of the Union address Tuesday — his first to a divided Congress — with an appeal to bipartisan priorities, but later criticized parts of the GOP agenda and got a sense of Republicans’ appetite for conflict during one combative stretch. Biden opened the 72-minute speech with an […]