Elaine Chao's Record Suggests Skepticism on New Safety Regs

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Elaine Chao's Record Suggests Skepticism on New Safety Regs

By JOAN LOWY AND JONATHAN LEMIRE, ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Nov 29, 2016, 6:18 PM ET

Elaine Chao's record at the Labor Department suggests she'd have a light hand when it comes to safety regulation as transportation secretary and would seek to shift responsibility from the federal government to states where possible.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Chao was his choice for the Cabinet post. "Secretary Chao's extensive record of strong leadership and her expertise are invaluable assets in our mission to rebuild our infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner," Trump said in a statement released by his campaign.

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Chao's record suggests she'd be skeptical of new safety regulations and may attempt to roll back existing regulations. Under Chao, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration didn't issue a single significant new safety regulation for four years, and mine safety inspectors were cut and inspections reduced, said Thomas McGarity, a University of Texas law professor and author of "Freedom to Harm," a book about the labor department that includes Chao's tenure.

Among the pressing issues facing the next transportation secretary will be how to boost the nation's aging infrastructure so that it can accommodate population growth and not become a drag on the economy, modernizing the nation's air traffic control system, ensuring that new transportation technologies are adopted in a safe manner and responding to a surge in traffic fatalities.

Whether it's integrating drones into the national airspace, deploying self-driving cars or "some other new technology, she's not going to be especially inclined to second-guess the industry when they say that this will be safe," McGarity said.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-source-elaine-chao-transportation-pick-43846785

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LBN thread: Trump Taps Elaine Chao for Transportation Secretary

[elleng]

1. But it's called INTERstate commerce!

[HassleCat]

2. Wasn't she disgraced?

I guess that makes her highly qualified in the new order.

[HassleCat]

3. There were a couple things

She was connected to some bribery, but she's married to Mitch McConnell, so that's not much. The really evil thing was cutting 100 mine safety inspectors to make life easier for coal companies. Then we had two big mine disasters that killed a bunch of workers. So she's not afraid to kill workers to help her pals.