House Passes Key Bill In Nod To Trump Admin
The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would make it easier to get federal permits to build infrastructure for AI projects. The bill, known as the SPEED Act, garners support from major tech companies such as OpenAI, Micron, and Microsoft.
Advertisement The bill passed the House by a vote of 218 – 213, despite a conservative revolt that almost killed it in a procedural vote. The Senate will now look at the bill, and it will probably be part of a bigger discussion about changing the rules for permits.
SPEED Act supporters say the U.S. must beat China and other global rivals to be the top AI leader.
Advertisement “The electricity we will need to power AI computing for civilian and military use is a national imperative,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., the bill’s sponsor and chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.
The SPEED Act would reform the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal reviews for projects that would affect the environment
The SPEED Act would reform the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal reviews for projects that would affect the environment.
The SPEED Act would shorten the current six-year statute of limitations for NEPA litigation to 150 days and tighten the deadlines for NEPA reviews.
Advertisement Recent permitting delays for Democratic-backed clean energy projects have garnered bipartisan support for permitting reform.
As AI has become a major industry and power hungry data centers have put more strain on the electric grid, pressure has grown on Congress to take action
As AI has become a major industry and power-hungry data centers have put more strain on the electric grid, pressure has grown on Congress to take action.
The SPEED Act would enable the United States to be “nimble enough to build what we need, when we need it,” according to Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, the bill’s Democratic cosponsor.
However, the majority of Democrats opposed the SPEED Act and insisted that any permitting bill reverse President Donald Trump’s efforts to stifle offshore wind and other renewable energy sources.
The GOP leadership’s insertion of language to exempt Trump’s attempts to block renewables from provisions in the SPEED Act that would limit the White House’s ability to arbitrarily yank permits it dislikes intensified Democratic resistance
The GOP leadership’s insertion of language to exempt Trump’s attempts to block renewables from provisions in the SPEED Act that would limit the White House’s ability to arbitrarily yank permits it dislikes intensified Democratic resistance.
During a procedural vote on the House floor, conservatives opposed to renewable energy demanded concessions in exchange for their votes, leading to the addition of the amendment.
“That provision codifies a broken permitting status quo. I look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle in the Senate to craft a bipartisan product that can become law,” said Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., who supports permitting reform but opposed the SPEED Act.
Tech Force,” a new initiative announced by the Trump administration this month, will employ roughly 1,000 engineers and other experts to work on artificial intelligence infrastructure and other technology projects across the federal government
The “U.S. Tech Force,” a new initiative announced by the Trump administration this month, will employ roughly 1,000 engineers and other experts to work on artificial intelligence infrastructure and other technology projects across the federal government.
According to an official government website, participants will commit to a two-year employment program where they will work with teams that directly report to agency leaders in “collaboration with leading technology companies.”
According to the website, these “private sector partners” include Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Salesforce, and many more.
As it vies with China for supremacy in the quickly expanding field, the Trump administration is putting more effort into building America’s AI infrastructure, according to the Tech Force
As it vies with China for supremacy in the quickly expanding field, the Trump administration is putting more effort into building America’s AI infrastructure, according to the Tech Force.
Four days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a national AI policy framework, which industry leaders opposed, states creating their own regulations, the initiative was unveiled.
After completing their two terms, Tech Force members are eligible to apply for full-time positions with companies that have agreed to hire program alumni. Employees of the private partners may also be nominated to serve periods in the government.
Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor recently told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“We’re trying to reshape the workforce to make sure we have the right talent on the right problems,” U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor recently told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Trump ‘Briefed With Options’ Amid Stalled Iran Talks
The Trump administration on Wednesday continued to express optimism about negotiations with Iran, even as Iranian officials insist that no direct talks have taken place, according to reports.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said no face-to-face meeting had occurred in Doha and that no direct negotiations with the United States were currently planned.
Despite Tehran’s position, President Donald Trump described the discussions as “very good,” apparently referring to indirect contacts involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through third-party intermediaries.
Vice President JD Vance struck a firmer tone the same day, warning that the United States could escalate its response if Iran refuses to cooperate or takes actions that further destabilize the Middle East.
His remarks underscored the administration’s message that while it remains open to a diplomatic resolution, additional measures remain on the table if negotiations fail.
“If Iran attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, threaten its neighbors and support terrorism, President Trump has options to deal with it,” Vance noted, without elaborating.
Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report claimed that Trump had been briefed on several military options, including “all-out war,” but Trump said he wanted to give diplomacy more time.
Vance additionally stated that the US “dropped bombs on Iran because it fired on ships, and we used leverage to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
He went on to suggest that the U.S. could take that course of action again.
Vance also said the current talks are “to discuss the details and flow of maritime traffic.”
The vice president, addressing U.S. military personnel at a naval base in Virginia on Wednesday, also said that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back decades.
“If you look at what our own intelligence says about their nuclear program, they are further away from developing a nuclear bomb than they have ever been since basically the last 20 or 30 years,” Vance said, though he stopped short of Trump’s claim that the program had been “totally obliterated.”
“What the president asks you to accomplish is to destroy the defense industrial base of that country, so that if they ever decided to rebuild their military, or if they ever decided to rebuild that nuclear program, they would be harmless to do it. You did that exactly as well,” Vance added, per the Times of Israel.
The VP went on to say that Trump is now “negotiating from a position of strength because of you.”
“If the Iranians try to rebuild the nuclear program, the President’s got options. If the Iranians try to threaten their neighbors or fund terrorism, we’ve got options,” Vance continued.
“But what we must never do is drop bombs just for the sake of dropping bombs. And that is what the president will never ask you to do,” Vance added.
“He’ll ask you to go to war, yes. But when he asks you to go to war, he’ll tell you exactly what you’re going for,” the veep noted further.
“And I think that is what you should expect out of your political leadership.”
“What I noticed about the people who are attacking the administration for negotiating is that they are the very same people who, for example, encouraged us to just go a little bit further and just drop a few more bombs in places like Afghanistan,” he said.
“If you go back to the mistakes that were made, those very same people refused to say what we were dropping bombs for,” he added.
“We dropped some bombs a couple of days ago… Because the Iranians were shooting at commercial ships… We applied some leverage, and we’ve had free commercial transit for the last three days,” Vance told the naval personnel.
