National Infrastructure Safety Foundation
Head of the National Infrastructure Safety Foundation, a nonprofit geared toward ensuring safety of all infrastructure; Managing Director of Nouveau; first acting administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (2003-2007)
Will Obama Say 'Yes' or 'No' to the Keystone XL Pipeline? The Keystone XL Pipeline would bring oil from Canadian tar sands to North Dakota. There, it would connect to an existing pipeline that runs to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. Because it would cross an international border, the State Department must file a statement on the environmental impact. That report came down last week, and while it downplays the impact on global warming, it's just uncertain enough to add fuel to both sides. Republicans see a green light for energy independence. Environmentalists warn of climate disaster. Democrats are divided, with the President caught in the middle -- and control of the Senate might be at stake. Where would the pipeline go? Who would be affected along the route? How has it come to symbolize the conflict between global warming and the economy?
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.