This politician is overseeing 1.2 trillion dollars in spending from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this current Secretary of Transportation. This openly gay former mayor of South Bend, Indiana ran for President in 2020.
ANSWER: Pete Buttigieg (“BOOT-uh-JEJ”)
[10h] Buttigieg called 225,000 dollars a “rounding error” for this rail company after a derailment dumped 100,000 gallons of hazardous waste in East Palestine (“pal-es-TEEN”), Ohio.
ANSWER: Norfolk Southern Railway [prompt on NS]
[10m] Norfolk Southern has been criticized for spending 10 billion dollars on this practice in 2022 instead of rail maintenance. In this practice, companies purchase from their own shareholders to concentrate ownership or avoid capital gains taxes.
ANSWER: stock buybacks [or stock repurchases; accept share in place of “stock”; accept descriptions such a company buying its own stock; prompt on buybacks with “Of what?”]
<Ganon Evans, Current Events - U.S.> ~20831~ <Editor: Ganon Evans>