Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
U.S.A.
December 5, 2016
Elaine Chao’s record suggests skepticism on new safety regs
SECOND STINT AS SECRETARY. 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 re-
sponsibility from the federal government to states where possible. Chao,
63, was Labor Secretary under President George W. Bush and the first
Asian-American woman to serve in a president’s cabinet.
By Joan Lowy and Jonathan Lemire
The Associated Press
EW YORK — Elaine Chao’s record at the Labor
Department suggests she’d have a light hand
when it comes to safety regulation as Transpor-
tation Secretary and would seek to shift responsibility
from the federal government to states where possible.
Chao, 63, was Labor Secretary under President George
W. Bush and the first Asian-American woman to serve in a
president’s cabinet. She also is the wife of senate majority
leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, which might be of
help if President-elect Donald Trump is to fulfill his prom-
ise of generating $1 trillion in infrastructure spending.
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
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
N
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
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that includes Chao’s tenure.
Among the pressing issues facing the next trans-
portation 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; modern-
izing 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.
As Labor Secretary, her job was to protect the nation’s
workforce, including setting safety standards and
addressing issues related to wages and retirement. She
updated overtime regulations for “white-collar” workers
and rules intended to force unions to disclose more details
on their financial condition to members.
Chao is “a strong advocate of letting the markets
function as they will, not intervening into privacy sector
arrangements,” McGarity said.
Mitch Bainwol, president of the Alliance of Automobile
Manufactures, applauded Trump’s selection of Chao as “a
superb choice.”
“Big issues await,” he said. “The traditional regulatory
approach is increasingly challenged to keep pace with the
rapid rate of innovation in our sector.”
More recently, Chao had been on the board of directors
for Bloomberg Philanthropies, run by former New York
City mayor Michael Bloomberg. She resigned last year
after learning the organization planned to expand an
environmental initiative to shutter coal-fired power
plants. Almost 90 percent of Kentucky’s electricity comes
from coal, and her ties to the organization were used
against McConnell in his senate rate.
Chao came to the United States from Taiwan with her
family at age eight. They settled in New York, where her
father, James Si-Cheng Chao, became a wealthy shipping
magnate.
Chao received her undergraduate degree from Mount
Holyoke College and a Master of Business Administration
from Harvard. She went on to become head of the Peace
Corps and deputy secretary at the Transportation
Department. She was head of the United Way of America
and worked at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington
think tank, before becoming labor secretary.
Lucky Dragon casino-hotel
opens just off Las Vegas Strip
LAS VEGAS (AP) — An Asian-themed property
catering to Chinese gamblers and guests has become the
first new casino-hotel to open in nearly six years along the
Las Vegas Strip.
The Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino began operations
in late November, in what officials characterized as a soft
opening, ahead of the official grand opening on December
3, KSNV-TV reported.
With about 200 hotel rooms, the property just off
Sahara Avenue is small by Las Vegas standards. The
casino has more baccarat than blackjack, and only about
300 slot machines, compared with thousands at most
Strip resorts.
The Las Vegas Sun reports the center of the casino
surrounds a 15-foot, 1.25-ton glass sculpture of a dragon,
and the food court was built to resemble Asian night
markets with multiple restaurants and street food
vendors. Dave Jacoby, chief operating officer, told KSNV
that the Lucky Dragon aims to attract overseas tourists
and local residents looking for authentic Asian cuisine
and popular games.
Guest signs are in Chinese and English, and the hotel
elevator doesn’t list a fourth floor because the number is
considered unlucky in some Asian cultures.
The Sun reported that when the resort won final
Nevada Gaming Commission approval, general manager
Matthew Harkness said it will market to Asian customers
in Las Vegas, Southern California, and the Pacific
Northwest in the U.S., and in Vancouver, British
Columbia.
The casino was financed with money from Chinese
investors and developed by privately held Las Vegas
Economic Impact Regional Center through the EB-5 visa
program, which grants green cards to foreigners in return
for investments of at least $500,000 on job-creating
projects.