Chao Confirmed as Transportation Chief
Image via Elainelchao.com
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Image via Elainelchao.com
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As expected, Elaine Chao was easily confirmed on Jan. 31 as Secretary of Transportation by the U.S. Senate.
Secretary Chao has stated that one of her top priorities will be cooperating with Congress to enact the trillion-dollar infrastructure investment plan that has been floated by President-elect Trump since right after the election.
Speaking at her Senate confirmation hearing earlier in January, Chao emphasized the “significant difference between traditional program funding and other innovative financing tools, such as public-private partnerships.” She said getting private capital flowing into infrastructure projects will require “incentivizing” equity firms, pension funds, and endowments to invest in “a bold new vision” for building highways and other infrastructure.
In addition, Chao pledged in that hearing to keep safety a “primary objective” for DOT on her watch. She has also asserted that regulatory decisions should be “based on sound science with solid underlying data.”
Chao is no stranger to the power elite in Washington. She served as secretary of labor throughout both terms of President George W. Bush. Her first major executive appointment was deputy secretary of transportation under President George H.W. Bush.
Related: Chao Pitches Private Infrastructure Investment in Confirmation Hearing
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