- San Jose Mercury News: Roadshow: New sales tax for traffic relief has its detractors
- Contra Costa Times: West Contra Costa: Transportation committee poised to go ahead with I-80 corridor study
- Sacramento Bee: Three California senators heading to Japan
POLITICO Morning Transportation for 3/24/2015
By HEATHER CAYGLE, with help from Kevin Robillard
COMING SOON: BIPARTISAN BILL WITH GAS TAX TRIGGER— A bipartisan House duo is set to introduce legislation that would force Congress to deal with the recurring crises afflicting the Highway Trust Fund or suffer the political price of a gas tax hike. The legislation from Reps. Bill Pascrell and Jim Renacci, both members of the Ways and Means Committee, would index the 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax to inflation starting this year. The money generated over the next decade from that change would keep the trust fund, which pays for most federal road, bridge and transit funding, solvent until the end of the 114th Congress.
A Highway Trust Fund Supercommittee: The bill would then create a bipartisan, bicameral commission — not unlike the infamous supercommittee that failed to avoid the sequester’s deep spending cuts — to find a long-term solution to the trust fund’s ongoing problems. “In quiet moments, everybody — everybody — admits that we need something,” Pascrell told POLITICO. “In talking moments, nobody wants to touch the live wires. We touch the live wires.”
Renacci weighs in: “The legislation we’re working on, which has not yet been finalized as we’re still soliciting input from our colleagues, allows for the consideration of all viable options so that Congress can get serious about finding a long-term, sustainable solution for the Highway Trust Fund,” Renacci told MT in a statement. Bill text is still being finalized but Pascrell said the legislation could be unveiled as soon as Thursday. Kevin and yours truly bring Pros the full scoop: http://politico.pro/1Ga7HcD
And what does Shuster think? House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster said he’s been told about the bill but wasn’t jumping to endorse it, saying only he’s willing “to take a look.” “I think it’s very, very difficult to do anything with the gas tax,” Shuster told MT, adding that he also chatted with Sen. Rand Paul Monday about the repatriation-for-transportation bill the Kentucky lawmaker plans to introduce with Sen. Barbara Boxer. The Senate duo first previewed the bill at the end of January but Shuster said Paul told him they plan to officially roll out the legislation today (refresher here: http://politico.pro/1JQf893).
DRIVING THE DAY: Today is aviation day on Capitol Hill with lawmakers in both chambers holding hearings on issues related to the upcoming FAA reauthorization. This morning, the House Transportation aviation subcommittee will hear from a wide variety of witnesses on possible air traffic control reforms. House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster hasn’t been shy about his wide-reaching goals for the FAA bill — he’s said repeatedly he wants the legislation to be “transformational,” with a focus on making big changes to the air traffic control system. “We’ve looked around the world and as many as 50 countries have taken the air traffic control organization out of government,” he said. “Looking at those kind of models, we can figure out how to do what’s best for America.”
Drone hearing on Senate docket: On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Commerce aviation panel will hold an afternoon hearing on drones. The hearing comes on the heels of the FAA’s announcement late last week that it was granting Amazon a drone testing permit with some pretty serious restrictions attached (Refresher here: http://politico.pro/1FvFjTg). During the hearing, an Amazon VP is expected to tell lawmakers how the company imagines “sense and avoid” technology will keep its drones from crashing if it ever attains its Prime Air dream. A GAO expert is set to provide a rundown on ways the U.S. could learn from drone regulations adopted by countries such as Australia, Canada, France and the U.K. And an FAA official will testify about the agency’s rulemaking process.
Other happenings today: The Senate Commerce transportation panel will hold a morning hearing on highway safety programs. This is the second in a series of reauthorization hearings for the panel led by Sen. Deb Fischer. Peter Rogoff, DOT’s undersecretary for policy, will testify at the hearing, which will focus on performance measures for transportation programs and grants, including the TIGER program.
Down at L’Enfant Plaza, the NTSB kicks off a two-day forum on the dangers of trespassing along railroad tracks. Every three hours a person or vehicle is hit by a train, according to Operation Lifesaver. Full agenda for the forum: http://1.usa.gov/1CKGGeR.
In the afternoon, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will moderate a panel on public-private partnerships during the SelectUSA Investment Summit at the Gaylord Convention Center in Maryland.
AND DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE BUDGET: This week is important for Republican leadership as both the House and Senate try to push through their respective budget proposals. At noon, the Senate will begin voting on the first of what’s likely to be a long list of amendments starting with Senate Budget ranking member Bernie Sander’s proposal for $478 billion in infrastructure spending over the next six years. Sound familiar? President Barack Obama’s budget request included a $478 billion, six-year transportation proposal partially paid for by a tax on companies’ profits held overseas. A vote on a counter Republican measure is expected right after voting concludes on the Sander’s proposal.
WE’RE WELCOMING TUESDAY WITH OPEN ARMS. Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports. I’m your loyal host, Heather, back in the MT driver’s seat after a nice, long weekend in Alabama. Roll Tide!
Don’t be shy! Send scoops, tips, complaints and transpo trivia to hcaygle@politico.com or shoot a tweet my way @heatherscope. And don’t forget to follow Jennifer Scholtes @jascholtes and jscholtes@politico.com. And as always, follow @morning_transpo and @POLITICOPro.
“She’s got Brazilian leather boots on the pedal of her German car…” http://bit.ly/1C4vnw2
** A Message from Americans for Fair Skies: Over the past ten years, the UAE & Qatar have pumped over $40 billion into their airlines. These subsidies are in direct violation of the Open Skies Agreements they signed. It’s time to level the playing field. It’s time to fight for American jobs. Learn more at http://bit.ly/1EO7I5j. **
SENATORS CALL FOR MORE RAIL SAFETY FUNDING: A group of more than 20 senators, led by Sens. Maria Cantwell and Heidi Heitkamp, is calling on congressional appropriators to put more money toward crude-by-rail safety programs following a recent string of fiery derailments in the U.S. and Canada. The funding increase would allow the three federal agencies involved — the FRA, FMCSA and PHMSA — to hire additional inspectors, tank car specialists and purchase more safety equipment, the lawmakers said. No Republicans have signed on to the letter.
Related links:
-Rail union says making crude-by-rail safer means improving tracks and stepping up maintenance:http://politico.pro/1IlHDdC
-Rail derailments soared leading up to recent crashes in Canada. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1CRsWQR
BLUMENTHAL URGES FURTHER GUARDRAIL REVIEW: Sen. Richard Blumenthal is calling on DOT to look into the Federal Highway Administration’s recent ruling on guardrail safety and to pull certain guardrails off the list for federal reimbursement in the meantime. In a letter (http://1.usa.gov/1N2fDhO) to Foxx, the senator called on the department to take over evaluation of ET-Plus modified guardrails “so the public can finally know if these products can kill and maim motorists as so many claim.” A federal jury weighed in last year on the manufacturer’s failure to disclose the modifications, finding the company liable for defrauding the agency.
FHWA oversight: Blumenthal suggested Monday evening that DOT may need to boost supervision of the agency beyond the guardrail issue. “This instance of oversight failure cries out for some kind of action, so I’m hopeful that they’ll impose some discipline on the Federal Highway Administration,” he told Jennifer. “Clearly there needs to be a new day on this issue, and maybe a lot of other issues, in terms of stronger oversight.”
VEHICLE DATA BILL REBORN: Nabbing a fresh bill number for the 114th Congress, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and John Hoeven have reintroduced their proposal to protect vehicles’ data logs. The bill would ensure drivers are considered the owners of information collected by their vehicle’s event data recorder and that no one else can access that data unless it is needed for emergency medical response or a court authorizes its release. The proposal provides an exception, though, for data used for traffic safety research, as long as no personally identifiable information is disclosed. In the last Congress, the senators got the bill approved by the Senate Commerce panel but it never got a shot on the floor. Read the four-page measure here: http://1.usa.gov/1GM9nqU
GM DEATH TOLL RISES TO 74: At least 74 people have been killed due to faulty GM ignition switches, a far cry from the automaker’s original assertion that only 13 deaths were linked to the defect. More from The Detroit News: “General Motors Co.’s ignition switch compensation fund on Monday said it has approved seven additional death claims linked to its delayed recall of 2.6 million cars, raising the latest total to 74 deaths. The fund also said it approved 13 new injury claims. Of the 126 injury claims approved so far, 11 are for the most serious injuries and 115 are for less severe injuries.” Full story: http://bit.ly/1CKzuiP
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: It’s official — Bella Dinh-Zarr was sworn in as a member of the NTSB on Monday after an easy Senate confirmation earlier this month. And late Monday, the Senate voted to reconfirm William Doyle as a maritime commissioner.
DRUMROLL FOR BILL INTROS:
-Sen. Rand Paul introduces a bill to address small-port dredging issues. Bill text: http://1.usa.gov/1boWvgt
-Rep. Lou Barletta has reintroduced legislation to overhaul FMCSA’s Compliance Safety Accountability scoring system for trucking and bus companies. Bill text: http://politico.pro/18TzaSw
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
-CBS investigates Jeep fuel tank fires and the related recall issues. CBS This Morning: http://cbsn.ws/18TnIqc
-Airfares steady as oil prices drop. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/19MnZwb
-A U.S. car-making boom? Not for auto workers. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/18U26tV
-Mayors want “game changing” transportation bill. Capital New York: http://politico.pro/1HuhOHl
-New LED streetlights make Brooklyn feel like “a strip mall in outer space.” New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1Hr8xjr
-Paris officials impose 24-hour driving ban to reduce smog. AP: http://bit.ly/1EDN06R
-Minnesota Republicans unveil $7 billion plan to upgrade state’s roads and bridges by tapping budget surplus, rerouting tax revenue and borrowing billions. AP: http://bit.ly/1N7iLal
-Machete attack at the New Orleans airport prompts TSA union chief to renew calls for trained officers to be stationed at all checkpoints. USA Today: http://usat.ly/18TFxp0
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 68 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 190 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 596 days.
Tags: transportation