- San Francisco Chronicle: In safety move, turns onto Market Street to be limited
- Contra Costa Times: Alameda Point redevelopment plan up for approval
- Napa Valley Register: Park district establishing Suscol Headwaters Preserve
- Los Angeles Times: House spending bill could put some bullet train funds at risk
POLITICO Morning Transportation for 6/11/2015
By Jennifer Scholtes, with help from Heather Caygle
WAYS AND MEANS PREPS TRUST FUND TALK: House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan is following through on his promise of a June hearing on how to fill the Highway Trust Fund over the long run, marking the calendar for a meeting next Wednesday. The chairman, as a chief proponent of trying to conjure up money through a tax overhaul, is expected to focus the discussion on that path. But the hearing will also serve as a venue for lawmakers to talk through other proposals, like Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s dream of phasing in a 15-cent per gallon increase in the gas tax.
‘A step forward’: Blumenauer, who has been goading Ryan to schedule this hearing, cheered the announcement, saying the hearing “could be a step forward to finding a sustainable, long-term solution.” A witness list has yet to be announced, but the Oregonian Democrat is making a plea for the committee to hear from “stakeholders who build, maintain, and use our transportation system, instead of only considering narrowly tailored academic viewpoints.”
TSA NOMINATION SET TO SCOOT TO FULL SENATE: The Obama administration’s pick to run the TSA could be sent up for full Senate consideration any day and is expected to make it there no later than two weeks from now. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has tentatively tagged a June 24 markup as a possible venue for voting to approve the nomination of Peter Neffenger to be TSA administrator, but panel aides have also said the hope is to vote sooner, if possible: http://politico.pro/1e3mQCy. Chairman Ron Johnson says he’s even eyeing a speedy off-the-floor markup.
Lovefest: Neffenger is quickly securing supporters in the Senate, impressing Senate Commerce lawmakers so much that the committee approved his nomination in a swift voice vote earlier this month. And the TSA pick is earning similar praise from the Homeland Security panel, even as lawmakers grow increasingly concerned about the agency’s effectiveness in light of reports that covert auditors were able to fool checkpoint screeners more than 95 percent of the time and that the agency let dozens of people work in the aviation industry despite terrorism-related flags.
PreCheck pledge: Scoring even more points with a skeptical Congress, Neffenger told senators Wednesday that he thinks “the goal should be to have a fully vetted population in PreCheck.” Many lawmakers have called on the agency this year to stop randomly allowing unvetted travelers through the less-intensive checkpoint lanes, pointing to an internal watchdog report leaked this spring that showed TSA agents allowed a well-known former domestic terrorist through PreCheck last summer. More on Neffenger’s commitment: http://politico.pro/1I2PuLp.
IT’S THURSDAY: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
Reach out: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes.
“Like a small boat on the ocean, sending big waves into motion.” http://bit.ly/1BasCYA
PTC PLAYERS CONTINUE SHRUGGING: Nearly six months out from the deadline for rail operators to fall into compliance with the positive train control mandate, key players in the debate don’t seem to know what to do next, even as they admit PTC is needed now. Our Heather Caygle has been watching all this play out and explains that “lawmakers, federal officials and the industry are in an awkward three-way dance, unsure of who should take the lead on next steps. … In Capitol Hill appearances over the last two weeks, federal rail officials have been unable to provide exact details of what they plan to do when the deadline rolls around.” More from Heather: http://politico.pro/1B7sMUU.
** A message from Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America: America’s wine and spirits wholesalers serve as the key link in the hospitality industry, which is a major economic engine supported by a safe, modern and efficient transportation infrastructure system. Congress should continue to protect public safety by supporting programs to address impaired driving. wswa.org **
EPA’S AIRPLANE RULES FACE CRITICS FROM ALL SIDES: The EPA has finally handed down its “endangerment finding” for airplane emissions, arguing that carbon pollution from aircraft threatens public health and welfare. The move is the first step toward regulating greenhouse gas emissions from planes, but Pro’s Alex Guillén explains that “the aircraft rules — which will likely take years to write — may not reach the altitude that environmentalists are hoping for. They could also face pushback from the airline industry, which enjoys hefty lobbying power in Washington, particularly among lawmakers who jet home each weekend — and the Republican Party that rules the Capitol is always skeptical of EPA regulations.”
International bar: White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the EPA announcement “is essentially the beginning of an effort to lay the groundwork for a broader international agreement, and then implementing that agreement here in the United States.” Given the global nature of the airline industry, it makes sense to follow international standards, Earnest said. Many environmentalists worry the standards ICAO is working on will be too low, though, and are calling on the Obama administration to eventually set more stringent rules. http://politico.pro/1JLqD2R
REPATRIATION GETS A BAD RAP: GOP proposals to use repatriation to fill the Highway Trust Fund may run into some trouble this year since what proponents see as a tax cut is classified by critics as a tax increase. Pro Tax’s Brian Faler explains that “the plan to finance a long-term highway bill through a partial tax code rewrite may violate Grover Norquist’s dictum to oppose tax hikes, a pledge that most Republicans have signed and are fearful of violating. … Many Republicans consider repatriation a tax cut, because they would offer companies a rate that’s a fraction of the usual 35 percent corporate tax rate they’d face when they bring their money home. But that’s not how the arbiters of Republicans’ anti-tax orthodoxy see things.” More from Pro: http://politico.pro/1Gzsg4L.
TRAIN EXPLOSION FUND SET TO SHIELD OIL COMPANIES: Several major oil companies have committed to shelling out tens of millions of dollars toward a compensation fund set up after the 2013 oil train explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The Wall Street Journal reports that “the energy industry has maintained it wasn’t responsible for the disaster” and that “if U.S. and Canadian courts approve the fund, the companies would be shielded from several lawsuits claiming wrongful death and negligence in connection with the tragedy.” http://on.wsj.com/1F9LiqV
MOVING ON UP:
— U.S. Travel has snagged aviation veteran Lorraine Howerton as its new senior director of government relations. Howerton has worked at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Air Transport Association (now Airlines for America), DOT and as a House aide. http://bit.ly/1B45v6B
— The Eno Center for Transportation has named three new members to its board of directors: John Blazey from Boeing, Sam LaMagna from Intel and Keith Parker from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. http://bit.ly/1MKvnG3
— Former FRA chief Joe Szabo has been chosen as executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. http://1.usa.gov/1GudKcw
— Ken Griffey Jr., has been named an honorary co-chair of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Foundation’s Hat in the Ring Society, a group of pilots who support the foundation’s work.
TRANSPO TIDBITS:
— Sen. Mike Lee introduced a bill Wednesday that would phase out the federal gas tax, and Rep. Ron DeSantis expects to follow suit with a companion bill in the House. “The Interstate Highway System was completed decades ago, drivers are buying less gas, and the federal government has wasted far too much money on non-highway projects,” Lee said in a written statement. “It is just an outdated system that is long overdue for reform.” The bill: http://politico.pro/1FJMOBN.
— DOT is renewing a two-year exemption to the federal hours-of-service rule for drivers hauling livestock, allowing them to forgo the required 30-minute break during or after every eight hours of service. http://politico.pro/1Iw0vr2
— Sens. Edward J. Markey and Dean Heller joined with Reps. Todd Rokita and Earl Blumenauer to introduce a bill this week that would requires NHTSA to integrate active safety technology into its crashworthiness rating system. The current rating system only tells consumer “how safe they are in the vehicle once a crash occurs, ignoring any features like collision warning and automatic emergency braking that can help avoid that crash in the first place,” Markey said in a written statement. “With new safety technology standard in many cars, we need a 21st Century, five-star safety rating system that tells consumers how safe their vehicles really are.”
— The Maryland-based Association for Safe International Road Travel’s honored several “road safety champions” this week, including NTSB vice chairwoman Bella Dinh-Zarr: http://bit.ly/1IHQkTi
MT MAILBAG:
— House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, as well as Reps. John Katko and Scott Perry, wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson this week, asking for details on how the department decides whether TSA should be granted access to terrorism-related records to vet aviation workers and how the department intends to prevent high-risk individuals from being hired into the industry. The letter follows the release of an inspector general report that noted that the TSA allowed 73 people with terrorism ties take jobs with access to secure areas of airports. The letter: http://politico.pro/1KrQopy
— The U.S. Travel association wrote this week to DOT, expressing support for Norwegian Air’s request for speedy processing of its foreign air carrier permit application. “NAI’s proposed service will improve competition along transatlantic routes and lead to lower airfares for American and international travelers, encourage greater travel to the U.S. from key European markets, help the U.S. achieve its goal of attracting 100 million international visitors by 2021 and create more American jobs,” the letter reads. Check it out: http://politico.pro/1I3j0AE
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
— Woman receives Takata recall notice two days after dying in a car crash. WTOP: http://bit.ly/1MIWHEA
— Coming soon to an airport near you: Uber, Lyft? The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1GzRL5J
— NTSB: Engineer on Amtrak derailment wasn’t using cellphone. Politico: http://politi.co/1f4SBLL
— Acura SUV recall shows glitch in automatic braking system. AP: http://abcn.ws/1I39T2W
— New ride services forge own specialized paths. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1FKpSlU
— Small-town airports close as fewer pilots take to skies. AP: http://strib.mn/1Mr1BW2
— Study: Freight rail rates need an overhaul. Pro: http://politico.pro/1e4BI3s
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 51 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 112 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 518 days.
Tags: transportation