A deeply troubling threshold has been crossed. In recent weeks, the national debt (debt held by the public) of the United States has exceeded our gross domestic product (GDP). In other words, we owe more than we produce. This is the first time since World War II that national debt has exceeded GDP.

Licensed spectrum remains important to American AI leadership. But importance is not exclusivity, and proximity to AI is not necessity. Policymakers allocating scarce spectrum resources should ground decisions in data: where AI traffic flows, which connectivity models markets are building and what consumers and businesses need.

This provision in the Senate bill directly counters President Donald Trump’s call to level the playing field on existing supply, not to suppress the construction of new homes. The Senate bill took that call and ran it through Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). What came out the other side undermines the Trump administration’s efforts. It is no surprise that Trump himself has signaled concerns, as have industry groups and researchers who have been closely tracking this provision.

The Surface Transportation Reauthorization is being consider in committee this week in Washington. The draft legislation thankfully does not contain the harmful provisions of the Railway Safety Act, but proponents will attempt to add an amendment to the draft language. For the sake of the economy, here’s hoping wiser heads prevail.

There is a way to secure Texas’s status as a logistical hub: a Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger. This proposed merger would create the first true transcontinental freight rail network under a single system, eliminating the time consuming carrier handoffs that add days and significant cost to cross-country shipments and positioning Texas as a major hub linking freight flows between the East and West Coasts. Strengthening these connections would reinforce the Lone Star State’s role in the national supply chain, improve economic efficiency, and ease pressure on already strained roadway infrastructure.

Congress has a choice. Pass the House bill and keep private capital flowing into new housing construction. Or adopt the Senate approach and hand Sen. Warren and her Democratic colleagues a political victory that throws the housing market in the wrong direction. One path advances President Trump's agenda of expanding supply and delivering real affordability. The other path makes a difficult market measurably worse by exacerbating the nation’s housing shortage.