Transportation News for April 6, 2015

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  • on April 6, 2015
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POLITICO Morning Transportation for 4/6/2015

By JENNIFER SCHOLTES and HEATHER CAYGLE, with help from Kevin Robillard

FOXX BACKS SHORT-TERM HIGHWAY PATCH, WITH CAVEAT: Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says he is open to a short-term patch for the Highway Trust Fund, but only if lawmakers are going to use that extra time to reach agreement on a long-term fix. “I’m concerned if the effort is to continue a spate of short-term extensions,” he told reporters on Thursday. “If, on the other hand, there’s a purpose in it that’s tied to getting a long-term bill, I think that’s a different situation.” More:http://politico.pro/1anXRrG
July rationing: The secretary said he expects the nation will likely be able to milk the waning trust fund until late July or early August, but the department will have to start being more frugal with the money in mid-July. Funding was initially expected to run out around the end of May, when the current reauthorization expires. Foxx acknowledged he is concerned the new estimation could prompt lawmakers to punt the issue even further. “I do think there are some folks that really want to get something done,” he said. “But we’re getting to a point where action is going to have to speak louder than words.”

TIGER GRANT FUNDING FLOWS: The battle for competitive TIGER grant money is about to begin again as Foxx announced Thursday that his department will pony up $500 million for a seventh round of funding for road and transit projects. The secretary says the department fielded $15 worth of applications for every $1 available in funding the last time around. DOT is also bringing back a two-part application process that has been used in some previous rounds of TIGER. Communities interested in applying need to alert DOT by early May, before submitting a project application in the second phase. “We think that’s going to be helpful in making sure that communities have an opportunity to put their best foot forward,” Foxx said. More from Kevin: http://politico.pro/1I891ib

‘FRIDAY — GOTTA GET DOWN’: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.

Today MT wants to know: Will EMILY’s List keep that “Please Don’t Text & Drive” banner across the back of the Ready for Hillary Winnebago: http://politi.co/1anCC9w? And if so, what about that sweet photo of the former secretary of State texting while looking so sternly Audrey Hepburn? Either way, long live the “Texts from Hillary” meme: http://bit.ly/1g6A1xt. Get at us: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes, and hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope.

“We’re drivin’ on the highway. Cruisin’ so fast, I want time to fly.” http://bit.ly/1gD53xE

CHICAGO TRANSIT WORKERS ALLOWED TO STUMP IN MAYORAL RACE: Just before Chicagoans go to the polls next week to vote in the runoff between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday forcing the Chicago Transit Authority to back off in restricting workers from passing out “Transit for Chuy” leaflets during their breaks. The Amalgamated Transit Union filed a lawsuit earlier this week arguing that the transit authority violated its workers’ rights to free speech. “It had a chilling effect on our people,” the union’s president, Larry Hanley, told MT on Thursday, accusing Emanuel of pressuring the transit authority to shut down support for his opponent. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve seen some pretty bold and stupid acts by public officials, but this is a pretty big one.”

UBER TAPS SECURITY CHIEF: Uber has picked a former federal government guy with Silicon Valley cred to run its cybersecurity and safety efforts, hiring Joe Sullivan as its first chief security officer. Sullivan previously worked at Facebook, eBay, PayPal and the Justice Department, where he prosecuted cybercrime. “It’s easy to see the Uber logo on your phone and think of us as just an app,” Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wrote in a blog post announcing Sullivan’s hire. “But in many ways we’ve become a critical part of the infrastructure of cities. We are both in cyberspace and on city streets all at once; a bridge between bits and atoms. And as we get into tens of millions of rides a week, we continue to challenge ourselves to do even better when it comes to safety and data security.” The blog post: http://bit.ly/1BSDU1T

AWARENESS SCHMARENESS: Distracted Driving Awareness Month is all well and good, but the campaign only goes so far if states aren’t getting extra cash for enforcement, the Governors Highway Safety Association argues. “Bottom line — we appreciate the awareness activities, but unless they are coupled with strong enforcement, they are all bark and no bite,” Jonathan Adkins, the group’s executive director, told MT. Adkins complains that the Grow America plan the Obama administration delivered this month “fails to address” the “prescriptive and narrow definitions” used to decide whether states qualify for reimbursement for enforcing distracted driving laws. “So we will work directly with Congress to rectify.”?

DOT MULLS GERMANWINGS IMPLICATIONS: Secretary Anthony Foxx says DOT is carefully reviewing the Germanwings crash and whether such an incident could happen here, but cautioned that is routine for similar tragedies. “I can say with confidence that I think the U.S. sets the gold standard for aviation safety in the world,” he said. “And part of the reason for that is that when incidents like the Germanwings crash occur, we look at those incidents and say, ‘OK, could that have happened here?’ And if the answer is even remotely yes, then we start to think about: Well, what kinds of protections do we not have that maybe we should have?”

Crash prompts questions about mental health reporting requirements: Some aviation experts are urging a review of how flight schools handle mental health issues in light of the Germanwings crash, reports The Wall Street Journal. More: “U.S. flight schools lack rules about informing aviation regulators about student pilots with possibly serious psychological problems, these experts say. U.S. laws and regulations provide little direction to school operators confronting such issues, and privacy rules typically make it impossible for flight instructors or their supervisors to obtain personal medical records without the explicit consent of the student. ‘There is no specific mandate to report anyone’ deemed unsafe, according to Dr. Philip Scarpa, president of the Aerospace Medical Association. ‘The school has no right to dig into [students’] medical background,’ he said.” Full story: http://on.wsj.com/19MHhjZ

R.I.P., JOHN HAMMERSCHMIDT: John Hammerschmidt, a longtime Republican congressman who championed transportation issues until the early ’90s, died this week at the age of 92. In a statement on Thursday, Rep. Bill Shuster said Hammerschmidt “belonged in Congress” and “understood how economically important it was to strengthen the infrastructure and transportation network, not only for his constituents back home but for the entire nation.” Hammerschmidt authored several bills to revamp the FAA, including proposals to impose penalties for safety violations, give airline employees additional rights in airline mergers and prohibit discrimination of travelers with disabilities. He was also chosen in 1989 to be a member of the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism, following the terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103.

DELTA COVERS EXTRA DOMESTIC PARTNER COSTS: Delta announced Thursday that it will pay extra health care-related taxes owed by workers in same-sex domestic partnerships not recognized by their home states, AP reports: http://abcn.ws/1y5ft6i. The airline follows dozens of other large companies in opting to cover the additional income and payroll taxes owed when employees include same-sex domestic partners on their health care plans, but it is the first major airline to make the move. “While this issue remains unsettled on a national level, Delta’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and respect is rooted deeply in the airline’s values and culture,” Joanne Smith, Delta’s executive vice President and chief human resources officer, said in a written statement: http://bit.ly/1xFkQsr.

FOXX CHECKS OUT INDIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE: The DOT chief will trek to India on Monday for a multiday trip that includes meetings with Indian leaders and a firsthand look at the country’s infrastructure, visiting New Delhi and Mumbai. “My visit is going to allow me to interact with Indian leaders, share experiences on smart cities, other topics of interest like infrastructure financing, [and] highlighting U.S. companies’ interest in India’s transportation development,” he told reporters on Thursday.

MT MAILBAG: Rep. Richard Hanna is calling on DOT to take extra steps to improve the latest study on length of workweeks for truckers, again complaining that he doesn’t know why the department awarded the task to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which completed a previous study blasted by Republicans and the trucking industry. In a letter to Secretary Anthony Foxx on Thursday, Hanna said he wants the National Academies to work with Congress in picking a peer review team for the study and for the research team to select drivers for the study who are “truly representative of the industry.”

Hanna has called on the team to limit its research to drivers who rest for either one or two nights and to compare data on truck crashes that happen during morning rush hour, since opponents of additional resting rules say the regulations force more truckers on the road in the mornings. The letter: http://politico.pro/1DABISe

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):

— An official with knowledge of the plans says DOT is readying emergency oil train safety measures. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1F7VQre

— Hate Uber surge pricing? Transit app Via raises millions to bring consumers $5 on-demand rides. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1BViH8r

— U.S. jury awards $150 million for Jeep fuel-tank fire death. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1F7WF3a

— The power of Musk: Elon Musk tweets once and Tesla shares go crazy. The Independent: http://ind.pn/1anHYBL; And Tesla could build another gigafactory, this time in Japan. Business Insider: http://read.bi/1F773IA

— Uber says Kansas bill would drive it out of the state. AP: http://bit.ly/1I9pl25

— Indigenous people protest 76-mile bike path through the Everglades. The Miami Herald: http://bit.ly/1aplfVM

— Driverless car finishes 3,400-mile U.S. roadtrip. AP: http://apne.ws/1MHeM9Q

— California joins in scrutinizing rebates for electric cars. Bloomberg News: http://trib.in/1Dtmgc2

— Uber threatens to stop operating in Hawaii if state legislature passes pending bill. AP: http://bit.ly/1MIX3i7

— Bay Area Bike Share program rolls out ambitious growth plan. The San Francisco Chronicle: http://bit.ly/1I9p5A0

— Arizona legislature has cleared a bill that would allow the state to issue driver’s licenses that comply with federal REAL ID standards. AP: http://bit.ly/19QgTWT

THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 58 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 180 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 586 days.

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