▶ 0:30:30Chair Cruz: The committee is called to order. We will start the nomination hearing and then we have a quorum we will move to vote for the nominees. We will start the hearing while we are waiting for members out of other committees who are meeting simultaneously. We turn to this morning's nomination hearing.
▶ 0:30:54Chair Cruz: With us our michael graham, nominee for member of the national transportation safety board, ethan klein, nominee for associate director of the office of science technology and policy and policy in you as chief technology officer, and joyce meyer, nominee for undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs. Mr. graham is a safety professional and aviator who began his career in the navy flying combat missions in desert storm.
▶ 0:31:21Chair Cruz: After nearly a decade in military service he worked in boeing and then textron aviation manufacturing cessna aircraft. Mr. graham oversaw the safety of all flight operations at textron. Since january 2020 he has served as a board member on the ntsb participating in on-site investigations and analyzing reports and spearheading initiatives to improve safety across the transportation sector.
▶ 0:31:52Chair Cruz: Our next nominee is ethan klein will serve as U.S. chief technology officer within ost p. In this role he will help oversee tech policy for the administration and promote development in emerging fields like artificial intelligence. We know beijing is marshaling state resources to become the global leader in ai by 2030 great america must not fall behind.
▶ 0:32:21Chair Cruz: I was encouraged by the administrations technology action plan which ostp helped author and I'm confident Mr. klein will be a key player. In m.I.t. Educated nuclear scientist Mr. klein served in ostp in the first trump administration as a policy advisor and he helped draft executive orders on artificial intelligence, drones, and biotechnology.
▶ 0:32:55Chair Cruz: Now he will drive the transfer of technology from lab to market. Not through the heavy hand of the state that in the american way with three enterprise. Finally we have joyce meyer. Her decades of fiscal and administrative appearance prepare her to oversee the census. On capitol hill she served as a longtime eight former speaker of the house paul ryan.
▶ 0:33:23Chair Cruz: In the first trump administration she served as dippy assistant to the president for legislative affairs. -- as deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs. Now she is a senior advisor at the commerce department. Ms. meyer will be a steady economic and amid potential changes in markets. I look forward to hearing from her and all her nominees today. I turned to ranking member cantwell.
▶ 0:33:48Sen. Cantwell: Thank you. Thank you for being here and congratulations on your nominations or re-nominations. Thank you for your willingness to serve. Mr. graham, you've been renominated to a five-year term on the ntsb which plays a wider role in investigating the root causes of devastating transportation accidents and identifying key areas of improvement including disasters like the east palestine derailment which Mr.
▶ 0:34:18Sen. Cantwell: Graham deployed as the lead investigator. The ntsb has made 34 recommendations in response to that derailment. Over a year has passed since that report and most of the recommendations remain open so I hope this is a moment where we can talk about some of those and the committee can address those recommendations. The ntsb is critically important in investigating the tragic midair collision in dca airspace that killed 67 people in january.
▶ 0:34:48Sen. Cantwell: This was not an isolated incident. The ntsb found near miss incidents between commercial aircraft and helicopters and the three years leading up to the crash and controllers warrant the faa helicopter routes were dangerous but that information was dismissed by the agency. Meanwhile the army has been operating at 100% of its missions not transmitting. These were not unknown risks they were ignored warnings that cost lives.
▶ 0:35:19Sen. Cantwell: As someone who participated in that investigation I look forward to asking your assessment about the fundamental changes we need at the faa to prevent future tragedies. I also want to point out you were renominated one month after president trump illegally fired vice chair alpine brown, one in a series of legal -- alvin brown, one in a series of illegal firings. Mr.
▶ 0:35:47Sen. Cantwell: Klein, you are nominated to be associate director of the white house office of science and technology at the next U.S. chief technology officer. If confirmed he would play a key role in executing the nation science and technology agenda including our collective efforts to ensure the united states maintains its leadership in ai.
▶ 0:36:11Sen. Cantwell: No doubt ai will change our world but there are lots of areas in which the federal government should play a role on education, training, ai, and promoting american leadership while also protecting consumers from harm. I support a federal preemption bill but only when paired with the appropriate federal framework which includes rails to ensure america is a leader in ai. I look forward to hearing from you on those priorities and other ostp priorities.
▶ 0:36:44Sen. Cantwell: Finally, miss myers, if confirmed you'll be the undersecretary for economic affairs at the department of commerce and you will be responsible for overseeing the bureau of economic analysis. Some of the most important economic data and statistics our government produces including gdp estimates and international trade deficits. American businesses across every industry from housing to retail to technology to manufacturing depend on accurate statistical information from the federal government that is free from political influence.
▶ 0:37:15Sen. Cantwell: Without it businesses find themselves flying blind and unable to invest with confidence. Everybody should agree on economic statistical agency's ability to produce that data free from political influence. I hope you'll agree with that and I plan to ask you questions about that and your general plans for the integrity of the economic data and what we need to do to continue moving forward collectively on america's commerce agenda. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from our nominees.
▶ 0:37:45Chair Cruz: Thank you and we will now take the opening statements from the witnesses and we will start with Mr. graham.
▶ 0:37:52Mr. Graham: Thank you chairman cruz, ranking member cantwell, and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you as I see confirmation for another term as the board member of the national transportation safety board, ntsb. I am deeply honored by president trump's nomination and I'm grateful for the support and partnership this committee has provided to me and the ntsb throughout my service.
▶ 0:38:21Mr. Graham: I would like to begin by recognizing the people whose love and support have made it possible for me to be here today . My wife of more than 36 years lori is here with me. Watching online are our sons matthew and zachary along with their spouses korean and crystal and our grandson. -- spouses corrine and crystal and our grandson.
▶ 0:38:51Mr. Graham: I am blessed with the best family and support system anyone could hope for. Having served my country is a naval aviator for nearly a decade and more recently as a member of the board for the past five and a half years I know there is no greater privilege than public service. At the ntsb that privilege also carries a profound responsibility of protecting the traveling public across every mode of transportation.
▶ 0:39:17Mr. Graham: Although I spent more than three decades in aviation before joining the board I have found that many of the same safety principles that guided me as an aviator apply across every mode of transportation. During my time at the ntsb I developed a simple mantra. Expect the unexpected. I believe there should be a guiding principle for any organization, but especially for those entrusted with transportation safety. We cannot predict every outcome in transportation.
▶ 0:39:49Mr. Graham: Flight crews do not expect a door plug to separate midflight rail workers do not expect a train to approach at high speed while they are working on the track. Communities do not expect hazardous materials from a train derailment released into the air. Tragically, nobody expects a helicopter be it at the same altitude of a commercial jet on final approach into one of the busiest airports in the country.
▶ 0:40:14Mr. Graham: Respecting the unexpected -- expecting the unexpected means putting systems in place that anticipate a wide range of scenarios and prevent tragedies before they occur. When done right the systems and power people at every level of an organization to speak up, report hazards without fear of retaliation, and even stop operations until risks are addressed. Our goal is always zero accidents, zero fatalities.
▶ 0:40:43Mr. Graham: The reality is safety depends on recognizing risk and managing it responsibly. If confirmed I will continue to be guided by that principle as I work with industry, government, and communities to evaluate new technologies, advance best practices, and strengthen our nation's safety record across every mode of transportation. I am proud of the ntsb's work and reputation and if confirmed I'm looking forward to help build upon both.
▶ 0:41:14Mr. Graham: Thank you again chairman cruz and ranking member cantwell and members of the committee for this opportunity to appear before you. I welcome your questions and hope to earn your continued trust and support in serving the american people at the ntsb.
▶ 0:41:26Chair Cruz: Thank you very much. Dr. klein, you are recognized.
▶ 0:41:33Dr. Klein: Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you this morning. It is my honor to sit before this committee as president donald trump's nominee for associate director of the office of science and technology policy . I would like to begin by thanking the people without him I would not be here today. To my parents steven and shoshana thank you for instilling a deep appreciation and respect for education and lifelong learning.
▶ 0:42:01Dr. Klein: To my twin sister dahlia will be starting as a professor of phillips at the university of chicago, thank you for setting the example of american scientific leadership we seek to preserve, and to my incredible wife jennifer and her family, thank you for supporting me every step of this journey from government service to academia and back again. I am the luckiest man in the world to have you as my life partner. My friends and family I love you all and I must give thanks to my god.
▶ 0:42:30Dr. Klein: Our national science and technology ecosystem is the engine that has driven america to become the most innovative nation in the world, built on the bedrock of academia, industry, and government working together. I am blessed to have worked across all three of these pillars giving me a comprehensive perspective on how to find tune their interactions to maximize impact. In the first trumpet ministration I served as policy advisor at ostp, leading initiatives in artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
▶ 0:43:00Dr. Klein: I witnessed the role government can play in laying the foundations of the technological revolutions defining our times. My academic journey began in the public schools of south jersey and brought me to m.I.t. To schedule -- to study chemistry and physics. During my graduate work I explored new frontiers of nuclear technology in collaboration with our national laboratories.
▶ 0:43:24Dr. Klein: Later as an mba student at stanford I saw firsthand how the co-location of capital and talent in silicon valley created an unparalleled innovation ecosystem. Across my roles included in financial advisory and at a deep tech incubator I've engaged with hundreds of technology companies , spanning hyper scalars university spinouts guiding them on how to engage more effectively with government.
▶ 0:43:49Dr. Klein: Ostp will celebrate its 50th birthday in may with the role of providing scientific and technical advice to the president is much older. Its precursor let the manhattan project and it was the president's science advisory committee that recommended the creation of nasa, taking america to the moon and victory in the space race. Today ostp can lead america to victory in the next race, to achieve global dominance in ai and other critical technologies.
▶ 0:44:17Dr. Klein: In a letter to the ostp director earlier this year president trump laid out three charges for the office door secure our position as the unrivaled world leader, to revitalize america's science and technology enterprise, and ensure scientific projects -- scientific progress and technological innovation fuel economic growth and better the lives of all americans.
▶ 0:44:41Dr. Klein: Under the directors leadership ostp has taken actions to answer that charge, offering america's ai action plan and drafting to issue executive orders to promote ai, accelerate nuclear energy and spur advanced aviation. While much has been done there is yet much to do.
▶ 0:44:59Dr. Klein: If confirmed my mission will be to continue implementation of those actions and drive new efforts aimed at removing unnecessary barriers to innovation, leading national science and technology efforts across the ecosystem and establishing new models for public-private partnerships. To meet today's challenges ostp should focus on tech policy and partner with academia and the private sector which now leads a growing share of technological development.
▶ 0:45:26Dr. Klein: That requires a forward leaning approach to public-private collaboration that reflects the realities of 21st-century innovation. Furthermore technology now cuts across every domain of government. Consequently ostp must more fully engage across policymaking and implementation arms of the federal government in addition to coordinate international -- interagency effort action should coordinate with workforce development, manufacturing, and supply chains.
▶ 0:45:55Dr. Klein: Emerging technologies promised to expand economic activity and enhance national security. In policy discussions about their governance discords has leaned too far towards restraint . As a technologists I remain fundamentally hopeful technology can improve american lives and further our nation's flourishing. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to answering your questions.
▶ 0:46:21Chair Cruz: Thank you. Ms. meyer.
▶ 0:46:24Ms. Meyer: Thank you chairman cruz, ranking member cantwell, and members of the committee for the opportunity to be here today. I am honored to serve as the undersecretary to fair's at the apartment of commerce that oversees the bureau of economic analysis and the census bureau. I would like to thank president trump for nominating me to serve as this great country and secretary lutnick for his support of my nomination. I also want to recognize those supporting me today.
▶ 0:46:56Ms. Meyer: First my husband donald meyer. We met in college at the university of wisconsin madison and it has been the adventure of a lifetime since then. Our daughter evangelina made that adventure even better. Eva is missing class today with approval from her professors and I beyond grateful to don and eva for their constant love and support. I appreciate the support of my closest family and friends here today and watching online.
▶ 0:47:25Ms. Meyer: I also want to recognize my late brother michael. He died when we were teenagers but his legacy continues to inspire me. I want to thank the first people who believed in me, my mom evelyn, a retired accountant, and my dad, a retired engineer. My mom has entrusted to me in important family heirloom which I bring here today. Our families american flag.
▶ 0:47:55Ms. Meyer: She received this flag when she was sworn in as a naturalized U.S. citizen many years ago. It has always been placed next to the front door of our homes, first in pittsburgh, pennsylvania where I was bored and again -- where I was born and again in franklin, wisconsin where I grew up. It is a reminder of how blessed we are to live in the united states. It was also placed by the front door it with reverence so it could easily be retrieved in the case of a house fire.
▶ 0:48:23Ms. Meyer: This deep love of country is what led me to a 25 year career in public service. I was on to serve in many roles on capitol hill including as a professional staff member of the senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee. As a staff director of the house ways and means committee and is deputy chief of staff in the office of the speaker of the house. I had the honor of serving in president trump's first white house as deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs for the house.
▶ 0:48:53Ms. Meyer: Throughout my public service, carrying out constitutional responsibilities depended on many critical components including accurate data from the bea and the census bureau. If confirmed I will rely on my decades of service as an end user of this data, I will rely on the analytical skills I gained earning my executive mba at georgetown university.
▶ 0:49:17Ms. Meyer: I will rely on my extensive experience leading large teams and I will rely on the impressive expertise within the bea and census. In the speaker's office as deputy chief of staff overseeing responsibilities required careful focus to support more than 10,000 house employees in the D.C. area and throughout the country.
▶ 0:49:39Ms. Meyer: The bea and the census bureau also focuses on every area at the local, state, regional, national level as outlined by the constitution and statute. The bea data and forms work on capitol hill from the baseline to the rental rate for your home state senate offices. Of course bea's calculation of the gdp informs decisions by policymakers at the business community.
▶ 0:50:10Ms. Meyer: The census bureau carries out the census and does vital work throughout each decade, including the well-known american community survey which informs key economic indicators. If confirmed I want to build upon the good work of both bureaus by focusing for the american people on three goals. First, ensuring the integrity and accuracy of data. The economy is always changing with new markets emerging at a rapid pace.
▶ 0:50:34Ms. Meyer: For data paid cash for data to be development -- to be relevant it must accurately capture all elements of the economy. Leveraging technology to improve speed of data. Data needs to be timely and relevant. Optimizing the existing analytical talent will require faster data. And three, achieving efficiency. The federal government has multiple statistical offices.
▶ 0:51:02Ms. Meyer: We owe it to american taxpayers to strive for better ways to deliver data and analysis sufficiently and not overlook any technological capabilities to do so. If confirmed I look forward to these opportunities and the honor to serve a country whose greatness endures as symbolized by our families american flag. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:51:23Chair Cruz: Thank you. Histogram, we will start with you. -- Mr. graham, we will start with you. There is a technology that can transmit speed and velocity to air traffic control faster than radar or other transponders. The army black hawk helicopter involved in the collision above the potomac earlier this year was not transmitting adsb despite operating in congested airspace with civilian aircraft.
▶ 0:51:54Chair Cruz: This meant the black hawk which never been flying that area was completely dark to airplanes arriving in dca. In july I introduced an act which would require all aircraft to transmit their locations via adsb.
▶ 0:52:15Chair Cruz: Widespread adoption of adsb will improve aviation safety as noted by your colleague, ntsb chair jennifer homendy. The ntsb has long called for broader use of adsb. Should virtually all aircraft be required to transmit their locations via adsb and receive adsb signals from nearby aircraft?
▶ 0:52:43Mr. Graham: Thank you for that question. As far as adsb goes, with respect to the accident. It would be inappropriate for me to draw any conclusions because it has not been presented to the board as a final report with conclusions and recommendations. As far as a dsp technology it has incredible safety potential if implemented correctly.
▶ 0:53:14Mr. Graham: I think it has great benefit for the future of being able -- for airports that do not have ground radar or any other kind of radar. I think those systems that are called the saai initiative the faa is putting in control towers is great.
▶ 0:53:34Mr. Graham: The problem they have is they have not put any warning or caution systems, either audio or visual for the controllers to alert the controller there might be an impending incursion. I have seen some of the technology that some of the avionics manufacturers are using in the cockpit which is one of our recommendations that go back to 2000.
▶ 0:53:58Mr. Graham: We asked for not just the control towers to have this data and be able to see aircraft but also in the cockpit so pilots can start reacting quicker than waiting for a controller to tell them. I believe in adsb technology in the future and I do think, especially in class b airspace, and my personal opinion all aircraft should have that. When they are operating in that area.
▶ 0:54:27Chair Cruz: In your professional judgment with the flying public be safer if the rotor act were passed and adsb in and out were required for aircraft?
▶ 0:54:39Mr. Graham: The ntsb does not normally endorse any legislation. We do look at our recommendations that have been out there for some time and some of those are included in the rotor act. We are always trying to have our recommendations either implemented by the regulator or legislatively by this body.
▶ 0:55:07Chair Cruz: With the flying public be safer if adsb in and out were required?
▶ 0:55:13Mr. Graham: Yes.
▶ 0:55:15Sen. Cantwell: Mr. klein --
▶ 0:55:18Chair Cruz: Mr. klein I'm in your role during the first trump administration you advanced the nation's ai strategy through the american ai initiative and helped establish the tenants outlined in the artificial intelligence initiative act. Some of those tenants were abused by the biden administration. The biden administration diverted it from its job of developing technical standards to policing what they called disinformation and stereotyping in ai.
▶ 0:55:47Chair Cruz: Both of which were masked up censorship. As stakeholders and lawmakers talk about wanting to more tightly regulate ai, they should keep in mind the last time congress authorized ai standards related activity the american ai initiative ended up being used by whoop leftists -- by woke leftists in the biden administration to guard against suppose it harms like Ms.
▶ 0:56:15Chair Cruz: Jen during of chatgpt -- like missgendering chatgpt or chatgpt on climate change. Why do you think the tenants of the ai initiative act were implemented in unexpected ways during the biden administration? Was that a departure from the statute or a result of the laws open ended language and how can we guard against it moving forward?
▶ 0:56:45Mr. Klein: Chairman cruz, thank you for your question. I have been involved in the drafting of the 2019 executive order which was the first signed by a president on artificial intelligence. The language we had used was seeking to reduce barriers to safe testing and deployment that would help enable industry adoption and ensure public trust of these technologies.
▶ 0:57:10Mr. Klein: In my personal belief I think nist as a former national bureau of standards is an excellent place to use sector standards that can help enable industry adoption and enable public trust. I think the position of this administration is very much focused on that in terms of america's ai action plan and the tasks given to the office of science and technology policy issuing an rfa that will seek to identify those barriers and places where we may need to
▶ 0:57:41Mr. Klein: Regulatory actions, waivers or regulatory sandboxing or places where we may need more regulatory clarity to ensure industry adoption and public trust in this technology.
▶ 0:57:51Chair Cruz: Thank you. Ranking member cantwell.
▶ 0:57:56Sen. Cantwell: To go back to this a dbs -- to go back to this in and out issue. You are aware that this recommendation was made a long time ago. The point is you support that recommendation, correct?
▶ 0:58:18Mr. Graham: Absolutely I do.
▶ 0:58:21Sen. Cantwell: The issue is why wasn't it adopted? The question is in the faa safety bill we try to get a larger role played by ntsb in getting an annual report on the highest risks that need to be addressed. That has been implemented.
▶ 0:58:49Sen. Cantwell: My guess is you would say this is one of the higher risks if it is not implemented.
▶ 0:58:54Mr. Graham: I believe it is one of the higher risks.
▶ 0:58:57Sen. Cantwell: What else do you believe ntsb can do -- this is a gap between a safety organization that has to spend all its time on the details and the regulatory agencies that seems to have tried to ignore those recommendations. What else can we do to further get this implementation as a priority? What more can ntsb do?
▶ 0:59:24Mr. Graham: It reminds me of positive train control. We advocated for that for 50 years. This is 20 years into this. All we can do from the ntsb's continued to advocate for our recommendations and hope the regulator or this body does something and asks for the regulator to go ahead and make it regulatory in this case.
▶ 0:59:52Sen. Cantwell: The problem is our regulator has not been doing it. This on the ground incursion that was the chair by purposely may come to a hearing and sat right to the next -- to the then acting administrator to call him out on why get implement it that recommendation. Finally he held a forum and said we should implement this.
▶ 1:00:18Sen. Cantwell: In this case, sure, I called the chair before a committee and had her asking questions, but why does that have to happen to does that have to happen ? We need an aggressive ntsb. I get it. At the same time -- the answer to the questions made it seem like you are hesitant to advocate for this technology.
▶ 1:00:50Sen. Cantwell: You may not want to advocate for implementation in the bill. Senator cruz and I disagree. We wanted implemented. We are like this is way too long. We want it now. At the same time I need a more aggressive ntsb on calling out the lack of implementation by the faa. We just do. I am sorry that is the case.
▶ 1:01:18Sen. Cantwell: I wish we had a more aggressive faa but apparently we have people who are rewriting the rules trying to be more like touch again.
▶ 1:01:25Mr. Graham: If I can answer that. It is not that I am hesitant. But I am hesitant about is talking about anything as adsb's role in the dca accident. I do not want to influence that investigation. I am totally into it.
▶ 1:01:49Sen. Cantwell: Did you see anything wrong with alpine brown's behavior -- with alvin brown's behavior at ntsb?
▶ 1:02:01Mr. Graham: All members serve at the pleasure of the president.
▶ 1:02:05Sen. Cantwell: I asked you if you saw anything wrong.
▶ 1:02:07Mr. Graham: I have very little interaction with other board members because of the way our board is set up. I had very little interaction with him.
▶ 1:02:20Sen. Cantwell: I disagree with his firing. Dr. klein, tell me about quantum and you believe we need a national quantum initiative reauthorization act. This is something senator young, durbin, and senator daines and I have worked on. Do you think we need a broad initiative to be aggressive?
▶ 1:02:42Mr. Klein: Thank you for your question and certainly. There is a lot of discussion about ai right now and rightfully so. Quantum is something I do not think is talked about enough and I know this committee has been involved in that space.
▶ 1:02:59Mr. Klein: The national quantum initiative signed into law under the first trump administration was a priority than and I know these actions to move forward -- to move further r&d for quantum and move towards commercialization is an important matter at this time and something that if confirmed I would be happy to work with your staff in this committee on.
▶ 1:03:16Sen. Cantwell: For the record could you answer a question related to that on fusion. Could you say something on what you think we should be doing on fusion, and Ms. meyer, my time is expired, but if you could for the record. The bureau of economic analysis, you mention a lot of things in your testimony about things you think we need to be broader on. We cannot have disagreement about statistics. I don't think we should have disagreements about science.
▶ 1:03:47Sen. Cantwell: Science is science and we should listen to scientists and engineers like your dad who was a boeing engineer. We should listen to these people. I want you to outline how you prevent the administration from undermining statistics. My time is expired so you will have to do it for the record but thank you so much for your willingness to address that.
▶ 1:04:10Sen. Sullivan: I want to thank the witnesses and nominees for their service and their family members. I always appreciate the opening statements that focus on patriotism and service and family. Well done for all three of you. Off to a good start. Let me start with you Dr. klein.
▶ 1:04:38Sen. Sullivan: You did a reference to the space race with the soviet union which was a high point in american science. Why is it similarly important we win the ai race with the chinese communist party?
▶ 1:04:49Mr. Klein: Thank you for your question. It is important because what we do in the united states will impact how the world adopts artificial intelligence. Whether other countries will be built on an american ai stack or a chinese ai stack and along with that goes technical standards and everything that will set the future across a range of standards. Artificial intelligence is not confined to any one sector, it is something we adopted across transportation and agriculture.
▶ 1:05:19Sen. Sullivan: And national security as well? If china wins the ai race their ability to have a more lethal military starts to raise its ugly head. Is that correct?
▶ 1:05:34Dr. Klein: Absolutely. It is important we work not just on research and development but also the adoption.
▶ 1:05:44Sen. Sullivan: Let me ask another question that often gets missed on the aiit is a lot abot missed on the aiit is a lot abo. It is lot about electrons. The biden administration were all about shutting down american energy, especially in places like my state. Alaska suffered through 70 executive orders by joe biden to singularly shut down alaska.
▶ 1:06:11Sen. Sullivan: We were sanctioned more than iran and venezuela and those are terrorist states just because we produce energy and the biden administration did not like american energy. Tell me about the importance of having american energy produced as part of the ai race.
▶ 1:06:29Dr. Klein: Absolutely. Energy is something we hear more about from the technology companies and the technology itself. That would be a bottleneck for our ability.
▶ 1:06:41Sen. Sullivan: Do you think we have more energy than china? Hell yeah. We need to unleash it and not shut it down. Don't you think that is important for winning the ai race?
▶ 1:06:53Dr. Klein: Pillar two of the ai action plan is focused on that. That includes the data centers that will be needed and also the underlying energy infrastructure. This administration is taking a number of executive order seeking to unleash that energy. One area I know very personally in terms of nuclear energy, you had an incredible opportunity to enable quicker deployment of the reactors for commercial deployment and government use.
▶ 1:07:22Sen. Sullivan: One of the first eo's president trump signed was an executive order called unleashing alaska's extraordinary resource potential which I appreciated but that is good not just for alaska and good for americans and the ai race. Mr. graham, let me commend you on your service. Your navel aviator service which is wonderful.
▶ 1:07:50Sen. Sullivan: I notice the chairman is in the audience. We appreciate her wonderful service. We have the highest crash rates in aviation in alaska for a host of reasons.
▶ 1:08:08Sen. Sullivan: The ntsb put out a study on this a number of years ago which launched the faa alaska safety initiative and one of the things I want to work with you on and I would like your commitment on is if we have non-faa service providers that can develop more precise lower minimum procedures for using gps-based technology, but they do not receive federal support and often cannot publish procedures for public use under
▶ 1:08:39Sen. Sullivan: The current faa policies. One of our challenges in alaska is we do not have basic infrastructure at our many airports -- that the lower 48 airports to. Can I work with you on this, the chair, the secretary, they are all focused on advancing this faasi initiative so we can bring down the crash rates and the death rates.
▶ 1:09:06Mr. Graham: You have my commitment to work with you and I am sure the board has had a long history of working with the alaska community and trying to make it safer and we understand how important aviation is to your state.
▶ 1:09:25Sen. Sullivan: Finally Ms. meyer I appreciate the flag, that is a great opening statement. I will follow-up on senator cantwell's question. The bureau of labor statistics revised its job estimates between april 2024 and march 2025 by almost one million fewer jobs. That was the largest downward revision in almost a quarter century.
▶ 1:09:54Sen. Sullivan: What is going on there and how can we fix that? That is a disaster for people who rely on that important data.
▶ 1:10:03Ms. Meyer: Thank you very much, senator. I appreciate the important question. I will start by saying bls is at the department of labor and not currently under commerce. I do not have visibility into the work bls has done.
▶ 1:10:26Ms. Meyer: I very much appreciate your question because an important part of the integrity and accuracy of data is the transparency that comes with revisions. If confirmed I look forward to continuing the good work that is done at census to place priority on accuracy and integrity. Revisions are part of the process, particularly with the data they do.
▶ 1:10:56Ms. Meyer: I think it is important to continue to look at ways to ensure that as data comes in it is reflecting an accurate measure of the economy or the specific sector it is focused on.
▶ 1:11:14Sen. Sullivan: Thank you very much. >> thank you to my colleague from alaska. I recognize senator young.
▶ 1:11:30Sen. Young: Thank you, Mr. chairman. Congratulations to our three nominees. Dr. klein, I know it was several months ago we visited in my office and we talked about the commercialization and deployment of all sorts of emerging technologies.
▶ 1:11:52Sen. Young: I thought it was especially beneficial to discuss with you our role as congress in this process of facilitating public-private partnerships so that we can make sure we sustained our ecosystem of basic research, pathways to commercialization, and the elimination of unnecessary barriers. As you know I am working relatedly on an initiative for quantum computing and quantum more generally.
▶ 1:12:24Sen. Young: The national quantum initiative reauthorization act. Our effort is to attempt to continue the acceleration of computing, development in the united states. Your assistance in this role that you have been nominated for could greatly assist congress in moving this legislation across the finish line, creating predictability and ensuring we have the opportunities to win the quantum race.
▶ 1:12:53Sen. Young: Can you speak to why congress must act to facilitate basic research and facilitation of quantum?
▶ 1:13:03Dr. Klein: Thank you for your question and I enjoyed our discussion several months ago. As I had mentioned to the senator cantwell quantum is an incredibly important priority for this nation. It will have applications across not only science but national security as well.
▶ 1:13:22Dr. Klein: While there has been a lot of focus on the research and development piece and we need to invest in that basic research there is also a role for the federal government moving towards applications of quantum if we want to build out a domestic industry that includes everything from the infrastructure and the supply chains in the workforce that will be required. Both of those high skilled stem phd's and we would love to see more americans going through that path and also technically skilled workforce that will have quantum jobs in america.
▶ 1:13:50Sen. Young: Can the administration do it all by itself? Is congressional action required? This is what we call a leading question, in the business.
▶ 1:14:01Mr. Klein: Certainly it requires both the legislative and executive branches to work together, and if confirmed I would be excited to work on this topic with you.
▶ 1:14:09Sen. Young: Likewise, thank you. Let me move on, Dr. klein, so we might discuss another factor in which you have deep expertise, and that is drone technology. I represent the most manufacturing-intensive state in the country. As my colleagues are tired of hearing. I understand the importance and economic opportunities of increased commercialization.
▶ 1:14:40Sen. Young: Including drones. I also understand the challenges associated with deployment. Scaling production is not straightforward, especially for systems as complex as unmanned aerial vehicles. Dr. klein, where D.C. the most pressing opportunities for congress to support the mass manufacture of U.S.-made drones?
▶ 1:15:01Mr. Klein: Certainly. I think from a congressional perspective the drone industrial base, there is a few different levers that can be used to ensure american dominance in this area, which was a subject of recent presidential executive order. I believe both federal procurement preferences for secure U.S.-made drones, supply chain and standards-setting in this area is another critical area.
▶ 1:15:26Mr. Klein: This is something we have seen truly an explosion of interest in across sectors from the first trump administration. He worked on some of that initial deregulatory action, regulatory sandboxing, which I think today has lead toward this continued integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system. On the industrial base, certainly toward standard-setting, procurement, and incentivizing the growth of a domestic manufacturing base are incredibly important.
▶ 1:15:55Sen. Young: Goodness. 30 seconds left. Are there any remaining obstacles that are top of mind for you as it relates to drone deployment? He obstacles that stand in the way of creating an environment that supports not just innovation and design -- we are pretty good at that -- that actually getting drones out into the field?
▶ 1:16:17Mr. Klein: Certainly. One important part is the regulatory sandboxing. It was recent announcing on a pilot program that occurred under the trump administration -- first trump administration, the publishing of a publication hopefully soon, use of beyond visual line of sight rule is another first step in eating able to expand the set of safe operations for drones.
▶ 1:16:44Mr. Klein: As we get additional regulatory clarity, additional use of these drones across sectors it will provide for a stronger kind of draw for a domestic industrial base.
▶ 1:16:52Sen. Young: Thanks again, doctor. Congrats to all our nominees. >> I recognize senator peters.
▶ 1:17:01Sen. Peters: Each one of our nominees, congratulations on your nation -- nomination. The 2030 census will determine how communities across the country going to receive millions of dollars in federal funding for roads, for hospitals, and bridges, as well as determine the political representation they have here in congress.
▶ 1:17:23Sen. Peters: It is absolutely essential -- and I believe you know this from our discussion earlier -- that the census bureau prepare so that the 2030 count is accurate and timely, and reliable. It's a lot of work between now and then. Next step to prepare for the 2030 count is to conduct a test run of the census in 2026 at six sites around the country.
▶ 1:17:48Sen. Peters: I am concerned about the status of the preparation for this 2026 since his test, and I understand the bureau has not yet even begun hiring the witches behind the curve with what we have seen in the past. And also the census bureau has refused to provide updates to me on the status of -- status in preparation for this test.
▶ 1:18:10Sen. Peters: My question for you is, do you commit to prioritizing preparation in hiring for the 2026 census if you are confirmed?
▶ 1:18:22Ms. Meyer: Senator, thank you very much for the question. Thanks too for taking the time you and your team. I appreciated our discussion. And thanks too for highlighting the important work of the census. As we know, this is a core responsibility, particularly as outlined by the constitution, and incidentally today is national constitution day. 287 years ago the constitution was signed.
▶ 1:18:51Ms. Meyer: So, I think it is particularly timely and with the work that is focused in preparation for 2030 -- as you know I'm not in the role, so I cannot speak any specifics. But what I can tell you is that if confirmed I will commit to working with you and the committee and also keeping a focus on the appropriate levels of staffing and resources that will be required.
▶ 1:19:19Sen. Peters: From our discussion you know that this is a big responsibility and it is going to take a considerable amount of your efforts going forward. Could you tell the committee what steps you are thinking about right now of thinking to prepare for the census test? I'm sure you have given a thought. Could you share those ideas with us, please?
▶ 1:19:39Ms. Meyer: Senator, thank you. I know this is a very important issue, particularly given your role and the focus you on your team have put into the census. As I mentioned, I'm not in the role, but I do look forward to, if confirmed, exploring ways to ensure that there are no technological capability that would be overlooked to support the good work of the census in preparation for 2030.
▶ 1:20:11Ms. Meyer: I also look forward to exploring and making sure that there are ways to apply any takeaways from previous experiences, previous census, and also making sure that the data that has -- continues to be analyzed in forms the next steps in regards to the census for 2030.
▶ 1:20:41Sen. Peters: This summer president trump called on the department of commerce to conduct a new census to take place immediately that excludes non-citizens. No law permits the president from unilaterally conducting a whole new census at this point between censuses. Any change would require amending the census act and approval from congress.
▶ 1:21:07Sen. Peters: My question for you is, do you agree that the president is unable to conduct a new census now, unless congress passes a law to actually authorize it?
▶ 1:21:17Ms. Meyer: Senator, thanks again for the continued focus and opportunity to respond on this very topic, this important topic of the census. In regards to -- as I'm not in the role I do not have any decision-making authority or have not been part of the discussions.
▶ 1:21:37Ms. Meyer: If confirmed I do look forward to complying with the law and ensuring that the -- all of the steps that are taken, as you outlined, particularly in preparation for 2030, I look forward to carrying that out and joining alongside those who work at the census.
▶ 1:21:57Sen. Peters: So, do you agree that a law needs to be passed? I did not hear your answer, I apologize.
▶ 1:22:04Ms. Meyer: Senator, in regards to this I am not in the role, but if confirmed I do look forward to continuing to work with you and the committee in regards to these issues.
▶ 1:22:15Sen. Peters: Very good. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:22:19Chair Cruz: Thank you and congratulations to all three of you for being nominated. It is an honor and I look forward to serving with all of you. We will start with you, Dr. klein. I am no nuclear scientist. [laughter] one of us is. How do you work to make certain that as we develop ai technology that it filters through to help working americans?
▶ 1:22:48Chair Cruz: That it does not eliminate them, but rather enables them and empowers them? How do we focus in on that?
▶ 1:22:53Mr. Klein: Thank you for the question. Any action that this administration would take with regard to ai has to have the american worker core and center. It has been a big push within america's ai action plan is to focus on ways that the federal government can assess whether new job opportunities, new areas, new sectors should be trained up for jobs of the future and ensuring that we are investing in any re-skilling or ability for american workers to include and involve ai in their
▶ 1:23:24Mr. Klein: Daily work to increase efficiency and make their jobs more enjoyable. I think that everything we do has to be data-informed, and it think that is one step to ensure we have the appropriate data of how industry is adopting these technologies and how it may have downstream impacts and ensuring we are training americans from the start in these kinds of technologies.
▶ 1:23:48Mr. Klein: The president had signed an executive order focusing on k-12 ai education, of which there is a task force meeting just a week and a half ago. Ensuring from the very start we are able to train americans to understand, what do these technologies mean? How can they leverage them for their education and future in the workforce? And ensuring that americans are able to benefit from these technologies?
▶ 1:24:09Sen. Moreno: That is critical in what we need to do is make certain whatever we do on a public-policy side we are keeping the american worker in mind. Thank you for that answer. Another question. Obviously, huge opportunity in government computing, in government services with ai. Our systems are -- wherefrom before probably you were born. The question becomes,, how do we leapfrog and get back into competitiveness?
▶ 1:24:38Sen. Moreno: There are a lot of opportunities. I have one concern. I want to see if this is something you are focused on or the office is focused on, that these ai providers are not allowing the government to use their ai tools for -- whether it is ice or law enforcement, will have your commitment to look into that to see why these companies are not allowing the government who is contracting with these companies for large sums of money not to allow them to use their tools at ice or
▶ 1:25:10Sen. Moreno: Other law enforcement agencies?
▶ 1:25:11Mr. Klein: Senator, thank you for the question. While that likely falls out of os tp's purview you're constantly engage with individuals within the office and the different cio councils, and that would be something where I would be happy to work with if confirmed work with you on the committee to ensure that all government services are able to benefit from the wealth -- welfare these technologies can provide.
▶ 1:25:36Sen. Moreno: You can imagine the problem where you have the government contracting with these companies in the company saying, you can use it for this, but not for that. That is deeply concerning, and certainly would ask you to take a look at that when you are confirmed. The optimist here. The last question for you is, obviously there is a lot of hype around things like grok and chatgpt. Can you talk for the record where the real applications of a are?
▶ 1:26:05Sen. Moreno: We have had google for a long time and those of -- those other applications or an advancement on that, but that is not where the action is. Can you talk about where you see the real applications of ai?
▶ 1:26:18Mr. Klein: Certainly, senator. I would focus at a sector-specific level. If you are talking about medical diagnostics. In the transportation space we had the discussion on unmanned aircraft systems. For example, automated driving systems.
▶ 1:26:40Mr. Klein: These are the areas that already today we are seeing the benefits of ai technology, and if confirmed one big priority for me in terms of what actions we take on ai policy should be around industry adoption at the end point where the american people can benefit from these technologies.
▶ 1:26:57Sen. Moreno: Thank you. One last question for you and then I will jump to the other ones. It was a comment made by the ranking member that science is fact. You have a phd and you studied undergraduate. Can you address that? Is science fact?
▶ 1:27:12Mr. Klein: I think science is a process of understanding to the best of our abilities, you know, any given --
▶ 1:27:19Sen. Moreno: It is never fact, quite the opposite, right? If that was the case we would build -- be believing that the world is flat today, because that was maybe the thought. Science is ever-involving and about expiration and learning. It is not about the conclusion that you sit with and say there is indisputable that this is true, although there are some sets of indisputable facts, science is a process of learning and a journey, is that correct?
▶ 1:27:46Mr. Klein: Certainly, yes, senator.
▶ 1:27:49Sen. Moreno: I will go to you, Mr. graham. Obviously the work the ntsb does, can you explain for the record, clean up some of the questions I heard from my college? The ntsb is not the faa? Just for the record? >> thank you, senator. The ntsb is a safety organization. We do safety studies and our products are mainly our recommendations. We are not a regulator.
▶ 1:28:16Sen. Moreno: So you are not making decisions as to what equipment goes on planes? You are not in the business of passing legislation? Is that correct?
▶ 1:28:27Mr. Graham: Correct. We have what I like to say is, we have no horse in the race. We are unbiased. We let the facts guide us to where they will lead us and we come up with a conclusion in our sole product's recommendations, which are usually very generic, and we leave that up to the regulator in the industry to determine how best to approach that recommendation and implement it so that we don't have another accident like that again.
▶ 1:28:56Sen. Moreno: Thank you for the -- your work and thank you for the chairman. You guys are asked to do enormous amount of work in a short period of time. With increasingly impatient public where social media expects you to resolve it in a lawn order sort of way were in one hour the crime is committed and 60 minutes later the verdict is rendered. I don't think that is reality. Thank you for working and doing great, impartial work.
▶ 1:29:24Sen. Moreno: Miss meyer, don't want to leave you alone, and since I am alone up here I'm going way over time. It is my prerogative here. Question is, as we get some questions from my democrat colleagues, do you suspect the president is going to come ask you your opinion as to what his executive order should look like? Or do you think that is probably going to be the president to look to you and the secretary templeman his prerogatives?
▶ 1:29:48Ms. Meyer: Senator, thank you for the question. Thanks for the time you and your team spent. I appreciated our discussion.
▶ 1:29:57Sen. Moreno: The question was, what was your opinion on whether the census should be -- you don't expect that the president is going to walk in your office and go, I'm not sure about this, can you give me your opinion? He's going to expect you to implement whatever he feels is compliant with the law.
▶ 1:30:14Ms. Meyer: Is that accurate?
▶ 1:30:15Ms. Meyer: In terms of this role, it is in regards to the data and implementing what is required, right? So, what you highlight is, basically, the role itself. The focus is on data. It is not on policy and so, if confirmed I very much look forward to serving.
▶ 1:30:34Sen. Moreno: Data does not have opinions or feelings, right? Just to make sure we are on the same page there. Thank you to all three of you. Thank you for your time this money. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for the work you have done prior to getting here, and it is a great honor to all of you that the president of the united states has nominated you for these positions. We are honored here, at least speaking for myself, to confirm all three of you in these positions. Mr. graham, Mr. klein, and Ms.
▶ 1:31:03Sen. Moreno: Meyer, my final question is required of all nominees. Do you pledge to work collaboratively to provide euro and timely responses to the committee's requests and to appear before the committee when requested?
▶ 1:31:14Mr. Graham: Senator, yes.
▶ 1:31:16Mr. Klein: Senator, yes.
▶ 1:31:18Ms. Meyer: Senator, yes.
▶ 1:31:20Sen. Moreno: Thank you. I have six letters of support from various organizations. For Mr. graham and Mr. klein's organization. I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record. Hearing no objections, so ordered. [laughter] senators will have until the close of business september 19, andy was a business on september 22 to respond to those questions. That concludes today's hearing. The committee stands adjourned.