Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) said the negotiations to reopen the Department of Homeland Security appear “stalled” even as airport security lines grow longer and more TSA workers quit.
“We can continue to negotiate around ICE and CBP,” Walkinshaw said at a Punchbowl News event Tuesday. “That’s a major breakthrough. Democrats have put that on the table. I hope Republicans will accept that before the spring break travel season hits.”
Iran. Walkinshaw also discussed his plan to reject any additional funding for the war in Iran, saying the White House’s only path to pay for the conflict is through reconciliation. Such a maneuver, Walkinshaw added, would be “very difficult” for the Trump administration.
Senate GOP leaders remain noncommittal about using the budget reconciliation process to fund President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran.
“I don’t see any scenario where I could support funding for a war that was unauthorized, in my view, illegal and substantively reckless,” Walkinshaw said.
U.S. innovation. Walkinshaw said the United States has to lead the world in innovation and technology, including in developing and deploying it.
“It’s fundamental to our national security, fundamental to our economic security and fundamental to a more secure, just and fair world,” Walkinshaw said.
Continued global leadership in innovation over the next five years, Walkinshaw said, would involve developing and deploying artificial intelligence and quantum computing technologies.
Fireside chat. David Zapolsky, chief global affairs and legal officer of Amazon, and Aparna Bawa, chief operating officer of Zoom, continued the conversation on technological innovation.
Zapolsky said most leading AI innovators are committed to the development and deployment of AI systems. Zapolsky added that it means some top researchers test the systems and eliminate bias, as well as build transparency and guardrails into the systems.
“There is room for responsible and thoughtful regulation of AI where there are gaps in current regulatory structures,” Zapolsky said. “But I think it takes that time of thoughtfulness and use case-specific approaches to arrive at regulatory outcomes.”
Bawa had a message for policymakers in Washington: “Innovation is so important,” especially for economic prosperity and advancement for the U.S.
“We definitely want to advocate for tech through TechNet, but we also want to listen,” Bawa added. “If we can have that dialogue back and forth, it’s a thing of beauty.”
You can watch the full recording here.
