June - 2017

GOP chairman: Trump’s infrastructure plan may slip to next year

Congressional work on President Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure package may slip to next year, a Republican chairman said Thursday. Lawmakers are facing a pile of other priorities, while the White House has yet to unveil formal legislative text for its massive rebuilding proposal. “They’re supposedly going to submit some sort of plan in the fall, so we’ll see,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, told reporters. “We’re

CBO: Debt ceiling will be hit in October

The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday projected that the U.S. Treasury would “most likely” run out of cash in early to mid-October unless Congress raises the debt ceiling. The exact timing is unclear, the CBO said in a new report, as unpredictable swings in revenues and outlays may deplete funds more quickly or slowly than projected. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has urged Congress to lift the debt limit before its August recess, though he has said that the nation c

White House Office of American Innovation Lays Out Priorities

The White House Office of American Innovation announced in March has been an object of fascination among the government community. Led by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the collection of White House talent has been described as a “SWAT team of internal consultants” and a liaison between federal bureaucracies and Silicon Valley innovation. Save for a few public appearances by its chief officials and praise from those who’ve worked behind the scenes with the

One year on, the expanded Panama Canal still 'surpassing expectations'

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) yesterday celebrated the first anniversary of the opening of the expanded waterway, described as a game-changing event in the history of maritime transport. ACP said the expanded canal’s inauguration on 26 June 2016 had resulted in “redrawn global trade routes”. The first post-panamax vessel to transit the canal was the specially renamed 9,443 teu Cosco Shipping Panama. Prior to the $5.2bn upgrade and widening of its locks, the 77km canal link

Abbott plots aggressive approach to special session

Gov. Greg Abbott is plotting an aggressive approach to the upcoming special session of the Legislature, diverting from his above-the-fray style to try to see through an ambitious 20-item agenda. The push came into public view Thursday, when Abbott's office began announcing lawmakers who will take the lead on individual items — state Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, and state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, intend to author legislation cracking down on mail-in bal

Why a Texas Bullet Train From Dallas to Houston Might Actually Happen

Nestled at the bottom of the continental United States, Texas is a state that is expansive, beautiful, and if you listen to those born and bred under the Lone Star, objectively better than any other place in the world. Don’t take it personally, folks, we really love our state here, is all. But despite living in self-prescribed paradise, life isn’t perfect down in the Republic. You see, the place is big. Really big. It’s a single state that amounts geographically to the size o

France aims to have ‘driverless’ high-speed TGV trains by 2023

France’s national railway operator aims to have autonomous high-speed TGV trains running by 2023, according to a report from FranceInfo. The train operator, known by the French acronym SNCF, will begin testing a prototype of its so-called “drone train” in 2019, FranceInfo reports. The new TGV train would be equipped with sensors that would allow it to detect obstacles and automatically brake, if necessary. The TGV, which reaches speeds of nearly 200mph, could be remotely pilo

Bullet-train battle moves toward special session

AUSTIN — They’re still working on the railroad, but while advocates of the high-speed train linking Dallas and Houston remain bullish about getting off the drawing board and on track, new barriers could loom. “We’re going to do everything we can to get ourselves inserted into the special (legislative) session” scheduled to begin July 18, Kyle Workman, president of Texans Against High-Speed Rail, said in a Wednesday telephone interview. Chris Lippincott, executive director of

A closer look at the final Texas 2018-19 budget

Clashes between the Texas House and Senate dominated the 2017 legislative session, and the state budget process was no exception. After weeks of negotiations over how much to spend on public schools, border security, health insurance for the poor and disabled, and other services, the two chambers approved a $217 billion budget in late May. If Gov. Greg Abbott signs it, the new budget will go into effect on Sept. 1. Here’s a look at how the two dueling budget proposals compare

Trump announces push to speed up 'desperately-needed infrastructure'

President Donald Trump on Friday pledged new efforts to speed approvals for highways and other projects as part of his proposal for a $1 trillion boost to fix aging U.S. infrastructure. At the U.S. Transportation Department, Trump said his goal was to solve "one of the biggest obstacles to creating this new and desperately-needed infrastructure – and that is the painfully slow, costly and time-consuming process for getting permits and approvals to build." Trump said the White