Pipeline Operators Say High-Tech Tools Preclude Need for Expansive Safety Regulation
In 2023, Congress' failed to reauthorize the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act of 2020 as required every three years, meaning for the last 20 months, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) pipeline safety program has been in limbo.
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CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
Vought won't rule out more rescissions funding cuts before September
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said his office is considering more options to claw back funding approved by Congress and isn't ruling out sending more bills to lawmakers with further cuts before September. Vought confirmed on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" Sunday that "we are looking to do [a] rescissions package" to take back some funding from the Education Department. A rescissions bill is the president's request to rescind funding already appropriated by Congress. Last week, President Trump signed a bill clawing back foreign aid, NPR and PBS funding, becoming the first president in decades to receive approval for such a measure. "We're thrilled that we had the first rescissions package in decades, and we've got the process moving again," Vought said of the $10 billion clawback. Asked to confirm there'd be no rescissions package before September, as Congress attempts to fund the government and head off a shutdown, Vought responded, "Not here to say that. We're looking at all of our options, we will look at it and assess where the Hill is, what are the particular funding opportunities that we have?" Asked about National Institutes of Health funding for research into heart disease and cancer that has yet to be released, Vought replied, "We're going through the same process with the NIH that we did with the education." He alleged NIH had wasted funds, claiming "$2 million for injecting dogs with cocaine that the NIH spent money on, $75,000 for Harvard to study blowing lizards off of trees with leaf blowers." He vowed to go "line by line to make sure the NIH is funded properly" and said funding would be released "when we are done with that review." Vought's use of rescissions measures to amend government spending is seen by Democrats and some Republicans as a backdoor method of infringing on Congress' constitutional power of the purse. "Rescissions is just a Washington name for double cross," Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, also on "Face the Nation," said after Vought's interview on the program. "They support one thing one day — the president even signs off — and then they come back and say they change their mind." But the OMB director argued, "We have the ability and the executive tools to fund less than what Congress appropriated" under the Impoundment Control Act, which enables the president to delay spending funds appropriated by Congress, and he didn't rule out a legal battle over the executive branch's authority to revise lawmakers' spending downward, if it "could find waste" by an agency. Vought has also caused GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune some headaches with a comment he made Thursday suggesting the appropriations process must be "less bipartisan." But this put Thune in a bind as he oversees negotiations to avoid a government shutdown in October, since Republicans hold a slim majority of 53 - 47 in the Senate, and most legislation must reach a 60-vote threshold. "It's going to take 60 to fund the government," Thune said in response to Vought's remark, and he added, "we plan to move [appropriations] bills that will have cooperation from the Democrats." Van Hollen said it was ironic that Vought is "calling for these deep cuts to education, NIH, when he has asked for an increase for his OMB budget." And referring to reduction-in-force — or RIF — staff cuts the administration wants across the government, Van Hollen added, "He asked for a 13% increase for his OMB budget. He's asked for more people to join the OMB staff while he's talking about RIF-ing people at other departments." The Maryland senator said that Democratic senators, as they negotiate funding government operations, are "asking for four Republican senators just to publicly declare that when they say they're gonna fund the Veterans Affairs Department, that they actually mean it."
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Democratic Party's Brand Is Cooked
Voters have increasingly little faith in the Democrats, a new Wall Street Journal poll found, with the party reaching its lowest favorability rating in more than three decades. Voters overwhelmingly believe that Republicans are better able to handle key issues in Congress than Democrats. The survey found that the majority of voters, 63 percent, have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party. Only 33 percent hold a favorable view. This is the most unpopular that Democrats have been according to Journal polls dating back to 1990. As President Donald Trump enacts an increasingly authoritarian agenda and provides little economic benefit to the average American, Democrats are hopeful anti-Trump backlash will give them a strong showing in the 2026 midterm election. While slightly more people expect to vote for Democrats next year than Republicans, according to the Journal poll, Democrats' overall favorability has only dropped since Trump took office. 'The Democratic brand is so bad that they don't have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,' John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster who worked on the survey, told the Journal. 'Until they reconnect with real voters and working people on who they're for and what their economic message is, they're going to have problems.' Anzalone's firm, which consulted for both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaigns, worked on the survey with Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio. According to the survey, voters think Republicans in Congress are more capable at handling the economy, inflation and rising prices, tariffs, immigration, 'illegal' immigration, the Russia-Ukraine war, and foreign policy. On the topic of 'illegal' immigration, 48 percent have their faith in Republicans and 24 percent choose Democrats. Democrats scored higher on health care and vaccine policy. Both parties tied at 37 percent on the issue of looking out for middle class families. 'As much as I fully believe that Democrats are not doomed for all eternity, I also believe that many Democrats aren't quite grappling with the serious credibility problems the party still faces,' Democratic operative Tré Easton posted on X. 'The podcasts and everything are real cute, but we've got work to do.' Democrats also scored low in a Quinnipiac poll released earlier this month. In that survey, approval of congressional Democrats reached a new low of 19 percent, with 72 percent of voters saying they disapproved. 'This is a record low since March 2009 when the Quinnipiac University Poll first began asking this question of registered voters,' the university wrote. The Quinnippiac poll found that even registered Democrats disapproved of the party: Thirty-nine percent approved of how Democrats in Congress were handling their jobs, while 52 percent disapproved. Among registered Republicans, 77 percent approved of how Republicans are operating in Congress. In the findings from the Journal, voters are mixed on Trump. About half, or 55 percent, of voters say the country is headed in the wrong direction. This is down from 70 percent in January, meaning voters have become more optimistic since Trump took office, yet Trump is not wildly popular. He has a favorability rating of 45 percent, and an unfavorability rating of 52 percent. A total of 46 percent approve of what Trump is doing as president, and 52 percent disapprove. Fifty-three percent disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy, while 44 percent approve. On the issues of inflation, tariffs, immigration, looking out for middle class families, health care, vaccine policy, foreign policy, and the Russia-Ukraine war, voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing. On the topic of 'illegal' immigration, though, 51 percent approve and 49 percent disapprove. The Republican Party is not wildly popular either, though, with 54 percent of voters having an unfavorable view, compared to the 43 percent who have a favorable view. More from Rolling Stone Supreme Court Lets Trump Enact His Authoritarian Agenda on Its 'Shadow Docket' Trump's Senior Moments Are Getting Worse Israel Seizes Aid Flotilla Bringing Baby Formula, Medicine to Gaza Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why banks hold the key to the Genius Act's breakthrough for stablecoins
A version of this story appeared in The Guidance newsletter on July 21. Sign up here. Last week, Congress and President Donald Trump passed first US crypto law of its kind. Now come the questions. Right at the top of the list: How will the Genius Act change the digital assets market, and for that matter, finance in general? At first glance, it's safe to say that Washington's newly minted stablecoin regime will reshape the crypto industry by opening the door to banks and other financial firms that wanted regulatory clarity before plying customers with blockchain-related products. This means payments, the lifeblood of the global economy, is ready for change. Turning point There is a lot of excitement around this prospect. Over the weekend Mastercard said the US had reached a 'turning point' in its adoption of blockchain technology for payments processing. As DL News has reported, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup are poised to integrate US dollar-backed stablecoins into their product offerings and payment systems. If stablecoins are to be a game changer in payments they have to be largely invisible. In other words, stablecoins should be as seamless in our daily lives as Apple Pay or Venmo or Revolut — utility-like applications we barely think about. This isn't just a technical challenge. It's also a regulatory and consumer behaviour project as well. For starters, stablecoin issuers will have to win over ordinary consumers. That may be challenging considering that stablecoin issuers, unlike banks, are barred from paying interest to accountholders, according to analysis by Gibson Dunn, a global law firm. Enter the banks So why would ordinary US consumers bother with a stablecoin at all? What's the advantage? The answer is fuzzy unless consumers can use them with no fuss. This is where the banks come in. As much as consumers complain about their lenders, they do trust them. If a bank integrates a stablecoin-based payments app, chances are accountholders will respond. While the US banking industry has been wary about the potential instability stablecoins may pose to the financial system, they're sitting in a very strong position to popularise the issuance of these instruments, at least as far as payments are concerned. That's because every stablecoin in the US must now be offered by a 'permitted payment stablecoin issuer' supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. For crypto startups, getting regulatory approval, even in the Trump era, is a time consuming, costly task. For banks, it's easy — they are already regulated by the OCC and other agencies. The upshot: banks, the bête noire of the crypto world, are ready to write the next act of the Genius Act. Edward Robinson is the story editor for DL News. Contact the author at ed@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
