- San Francisco Chronicle: Revised 5th and Mission plan adds affordable housing, open space
- San Francisco Chronicle: Court: Affordable housing can be required
- Santa Rosa Press Democrat: County supervisors debate how to pay for road repairs
- CBS San Francisco: Roads In 3 North Bay Towns Tied For Worst In Bay Area On MTC List
POLITICO Morning Transportation for 6/16/2015
By JENNIFER SCHOLTES, with help from Kathryn A. Wolfe
SENATE POISED TO CONFIRM TSA HEAD: Don’t blink, or you’re likely to miss the Senate’s move to confirm TSA’s next administrator. Now that committees have kicked the nomination up to the full Senate, the chamber is expected to vote any day now to get Peter Neffenger seated. Lawmakers from both parties are feeling the urgency to confirm a leader for the agency that has been so thoroughly discredited in recent weeks, and there is widespread agreement that Neffenger is up to the task of trying to fix the ailing airport security screening process.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee signed off (http://politico.pro/1dH89nP) on the nomination Monday night, five days after the nominee’s confirmation hearing before the panel. And the Senate Commerce Committee moved similarly swiftly to give its approval earlier this month.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVES TO ALIGN TRADE DEADLINE WITH TRUST FUND EXPIRATION: As if it weren’t already a heavy lift to find funding for the Highway Trust Fund by the end of July, House Republicans are now adding another item to the legislative list they want to complete by that deadline, creating a process to give themselves until then to take another vote on the Trade Adjustment Assistance proposal that tanked last week. Entangling the trade bill’s fate with that of the trust fund could be good for those gunning for TAA, but it will likely complicate already endangered efforts to refill the waning fund and extend transportation authority. House Republicans’ plans to buy the extra time comes after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told her colleagues last week that the prospects of passage of a trade deal “will greatly increase with the passage of a robust highway bill”: http://politico.pro/1QZjUTi. More on the trade talks: http://politi.co/1Gov2GB.
SENATE DEMS CRAFT GOP-BASHING TRANSPO SOUND BITES: Senate Democratic leaders are calling on reporters to come out this morning to jot down the minority party’s goals for enacting a long-term transportation funding plan, hoping to get in the papers and on TV railing on their Republican counterparts. Blaming the GOP for inaction, they’re again pushing the #RepublicanRoadblock hashtag.
IT’S TUESDAY: 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.
“Once there was this kid who got into an accident and couldn’t come to school. But when he finally came back, his hair had turned from black into bright white.” http://bit.ly/1FjJoUL
BRIDGE ACT IS BACK: A bipartisan group of nine senators plans to reintroduce legislation today that would create an infrastructure financing authority to help states and localities secure private money for infrastructure investment. Sen. Mark Warner introduced a previous iteration (http://1.usa.gov/1R2l1lm) of the measure in late 2013, but the legislation didn’t even make it to a markup. The BRIDGE Act, as they call it, would set up a board to help provide loans and loan guarantees to fund up to 49 percent of infrastructure projects and help governments “go toe-to-toe with private sector partners to ensure that taxpayers are getting good value” through government partnerships with businesses. All modes of transportation would be eligible, but the authority would only help finance projects costing at least $50 million.
Sen. Roy Blunt has signed on with Warner as a lead sponsor, and seven others have added their names: Kirsten Gillibrand, Lindsey Graham, Amy Klobuchar, Mark Kirk, Claire McCaskill, Roger Wicker and Chris Coons.
‘Willingness to work together’: “The BRIDGE Act is not a ‘silver bullet’ to magically close America’s infrastructure gap, but this bipartisan proposal creates smart new tools to help our states and localities unlock billions of dollars in additional private investments at a time of very favorable interest rates,” Warner said in a written statement. “At a time when Congress has once again kicked the can down the road on a long-term surface transportation bill — passing 33 short-term patches for the Highway Trust Fund — this legislation demonstrates that there is a real willingness to work together in a responsible, bipartisan way to get moving on important investment priorities.”
SHUSTER’S FAA PLAN RAISES LIKELIHOOD OF ANOTHER EXTENSION: House T&I Chairman Bill Shuster is finally going beyond his “transformational” adjective in describing his plans for revamping the FAA, disclosing on Monday that he wants to pull air traffic control operations out of the agency. Our Kathryn A. Wolfe explains that this virtually assures “the bill won’t be done by its September due date as interests gird for battle. … The airline industry — or at least most of it — is likely going to be on board with what Shuster’s bill will eventually contain, considering that broadly speaking Shuster’s remarks echo their position, such as they’ve taken one. … But perhaps the most important backer Shuster needs to win is the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which has repeatedly said it won’t support a privatized system but is open to discussions around other options, as long as funding is stabilized.” http://politico.pro/1R378Du
Delta speaks out: Breaking with trade groups, Delta voiced concern Monday that “uprooting the current system would result in organizational disruption, silos between the organizations, unforeseen transition costs, a loss of experts and institutional knowledge and an ATC operation that is separate from the safety oversight of the FAA”: http://politico.pro/1QzWglr.
General aviation worries: The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association followed Shuster’s remarks with a plea for the chairman not to do anything that would mess with general aviation access. “There is no doubt that the FAA has spent billions over the years on efforts to modernize our air traffic control system, and we recognize that change is needed to ensure continued U.S. leadership in aviation,” Jim Coon, the group’s senior vice president for government affairs, said in a written statement. “But we must avoid any unintended consequences for general aviation.”
TREASURY SEEKS INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT REPORT: The Treasury Department wants to commission a report on the most significant transportation and water infrastructure projects being considered throughout the nation, including those that aren’t advancing because of funding shortages. “Identifying specific projects with the greatest projected net economic benefits would not only call attention to their value, but also underscore the idea that infrastructure is a worthwhile, long-term investment with real benefits and returns to local and regional economies, rather than wasteful spending or a tool to create short-term jobs,” the department’s request for proposal says. Check out that RFP: http://1.usa.gov/1Gpg6It.
VOLVO ENGINE COMPANY FORCED TO PAY $72 MILLION EPA FINE: The Supreme Court decided Monday to cast aside an appeal brought by Volvo’s engine manufacturer, dooming the company to pay a $72 million fine for trying to trick EPA emissions tests. Pro’s Alex Guillén explains that “Volvo Powertrain Corp., a Volvo Group subsidiary, signed a consent decree with EPA in the 1990s after the government found the company and other manufacturers had used ‘defeat devices’ to keep emissions down during EPA tests while vehicles sold to the public exceeded limits. Volvo argued that more than 8,000 Penta engines made at a Swedish facility should not have to comply with 2006 nitrogen oxide standards under the terms of the agreement. Both the district and appellate courts concluded that Volvo Powertrain’s consent agreement applies to the Penta engines, even though they were manufactured by a separate subsidiary, because the agreement applies to all engines manufactured at the facility in question.” http://politico.pro/1dH5xpW
MONIZ CALLS FOR RETHINKING OF OIL RESERVES: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is calling for a “reevaluation” of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because of new international energy security demands. The secretary said the reserve “needs to be large enough, it’s anticipatory authorities robust enough and its distribution capacity sufficiently de-congested and large enough to maximize its value in avoiding economy-damaging oil and gasoline price spikes from a global disruption.” More from Pro’s Andrew Restuccia: http://politico.pro/1dGysdT.
LUFTHANSA GOES ON RECORD IN OPEN SKIES DISPUTE: Lufthansa has weighed in through DOT’s docket on whether or not the Obama administration shoulder renegotiate Open Skies agreements with Gulf carriers. “The aviation policy of the UAE and Qatar are true game-changers, pulling capacity in the market at prices that airlines working under normal market conditions cannot reasonably match,” wrote Thomas Kropp, the airline’s senior vice president of group international relations and government affairs. “This has led to a radical shift of market shares and connectivity from Europe to the Gulf, and this process has only started.”
MOVING ON UP: Margaret Cummisky is joining Hawaiian Airlines as managing director of federal government relations. Cummisky was formerly a senior staffer for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye and is currently assistant secretary for legislative and intergovernmental affairs at the Commerce Department. She will open the airline’s D.C. office later this month.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
— Elon Musk wants your Hyperloop ideas. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1GJ8W2V
— Carnival will stuff more than 7,000 humans into its new cruise ships. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1SjB00V
— The $50 billion question: Can Uber deliver? The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1ejhJOR
— Judge denies Toyota new trial in fatal Minnesota crash. AP: http://kare11.tv/1fe0dLT
— This tiny SUV just made the biggest splash in the U.S. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1Gpltap
— Boeing sells cargo planes to Qatar Airways, Eva Airways. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1Ihlxaj
— NTSB report gives indication of possible cause of Metro calamity. The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1HNc5zO
— Chinese Uber rival will raise funds at $15 billion valuation. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1TnFTr9
— United Technologies announces exit from helicopter business. AP: http://abcn.ws/1TphW2D
— Honda to discontinue CNG and hybrid civic models. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1GJ7tLV
— This plane runs on sun and is about to smash some records. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1R0FGq3
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 46 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 107 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 513 days.
Tags: news, transportation