| | | | | |  | | By Stephanie Beasley and Sam Mintz | Presented by Responsibility.org | Editor's Note: Weekly Transportation is a weekly version of POLITICO Pro's daily Transportation policy newsletter, Morning Transportation. POLITICO Pro is a policy intelligence platform that combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Morning Transportation will not publish from Thursday, Dec. 24, through Friday, Jan. 1. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Monday, Jan. 4. | | | THE 11TH HOUR: Congress is expected to vote today on a $900 billion stimulus deal that will provide a second round of federal assistance to transportation industries still struggling to survive the pandemic. The text is not yet publicly available, but as we reported over the weekend, the bill is expected to retain $45 billion total for various modes, including $15 billion for airlines and $14 billion for transit. Airports and airport concessionaires also would get $2 billion from the final deal, despite being excluded entirely from an earlier draft. Also wrapped in: Amtrak and airline contractors are expected to receive $1 billion each. State DOTs will get $10 billion for highways. Last train moving: There also have been reports that House and Senate transportation committees planned to use a $1.4 trillion omnibus as a vehicle for compromise language that would mandate an overhaul of FAA's aircraft certification process following two 737 MAX crashes.The measure would tighten FAA oversight of Boeing engineers who conduct safety assessments on the agency's behalf, require "greater disclosure and analysis of safety-critical systems at the outset of the certification process," and create new penalties for supervisors who interfere with whistleblowers, The Seattle Times reported. Busy weekend: News that lawmakers were seeking to wrap the FAA certification measure in the bill followed publication of a damning Senate Commerce Committee report that found FAA management had, in some instances, been complicit in thwarting oversight. More on that below. IT'S MONDAY: Thanks for reading POLITICO's Morning Transportation. If it moves, we cover it. Get in touch with tips, feedback and song lyrics at smintz@politico.com or @samjmintz. I come riding in on a pale white horse / Handing out highs to less fortunate / I do advise you run it back, run it on back Rock out to our transportation playlist on Spotify. | | A message from Responsibility.org: December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. High-risk impaired drivers are at a higher crash risk, are disproportionately involved in fatal crashes, often escape accountability and typically become repeat DUI offenders. Learn more about these offenders and what research shows will be effective in deterring them. StopHRID.org | | | | | | IN HIS FIRST POST-NOMINATION INTERVIEW: Pete Buttigieg told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday that he was confident that, if confirmed to lead DOT, he could help the incoming Biden administration clinch an infrastructure deal, but offered few new details about what a Biden proposal might look like. "A deal is not just possible. It's necessary," Buttigieg said. "I'm looking forward to joining the team that President-elect Biden is assembling and working with folks around the country, business, labor, environmental groups, and, of course, with Congress to actually get something done." Before you get too excited: It's important to remember that current surface transportation law expires next year, which means Congress has to eventually pass something to renew it. But it doesn't mean they'll OK the kind of huge infrastructure investment that President Donald Trump promised and never delivered or that Biden says he wants to champion. Milestones: Buttigieg also discussed his prospects for becoming the first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary. He noted his remembrance of the contentious confirmation process for James Hormel — the first openly gay U.S ambassador — who eventually received a recess appointment from President Bill Clinton. "I was mindful as that announcement came out that I was standing on the shoulders of people who came before me, and I understand that part of my responsibility and my opportunity is to make it a little bit easier for the next person to come along," Buttigieg said. HIGHWAY HOPES: One side effect of a well-known politician being tapped to lead DOT is that Buttigieg will bring with him a built-in fan base as he heads to an agency that has not been known for online fandom in the past. Buttigieg's Twitter army is gearing up to get "indoctrinated" as "transpo nerds," as one of his followers changed their bio to reflect. "Cheering on the Biden admin and esp the DOT!" read another. One changed their name to "Commutigieg" and another to "Paula is learning transportation stuff." Buttigieg's social media supporters are also grouping together to learn and educate one another on DOT's various functions. Why it matters: Beyond being a funny illustration of the weirdness of Internet political fandom, it also reflects that for better or worse, DOT and its leader are going to have lots of attention focused on them during the Biden administration. | | | | EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT TRANSITION PLAYBOOK, SUBSCRIBE TODAY: A new year is quickly approaching. Inauguration Day is right around the corner. President-elect Joe Biden's staffing decisions are sending clear-cut signals about his priorities. What do these signals foretell? Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to the new administration and one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, this scoop-filled newsletter breaks big news daily and analyzes the appointments, people and emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | LATEST ON VACCINES: The FAA cleared pilots and air traffic controllers to take Moderna's coronavirus vaccine, which the Food and Drug Administration authorized for emergency use late Friday. The agency issued a similar medical clearance after a Pfizer vaccine received FAA approval earlier this month. Also: On Sunday, an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued nonbinding recommendations that public transit and other essential front-line workers, along with people 75 and older, be in the next phases for early access to limited supplies of vaccines. LIKE, WHOA: The Senate Commerce Committee released a report Friday that found "the FAA stymied congressional investigators, allowed Boeing to coach pilots so they performed better on simulator tests of the Boeing 737 MAX, and continued a decades-long pattern of punishing whistleblowers — all at the expense of passengers." The tea: The 102-page document included details from the panel's 20-month investigation into two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes and offered a scathing indictment of the FAA's safety culture. The panel accused agency supervisors of being aware of, and sometimes complicit in, efforts to impede oversight. It also said it had found at least one instance when Boeing coached a test pilot who was being evaluated on how well he could react to various conditions involving a flight control feature called MCAS, whose fault activation was implicated in the MAX crashes. FAA test pilots appear to have colluded in that coaching, according to the report. Another spill: The report revealed that FAA "senior leaders" might have obstructed a DOT inspector general investigation into the MAX crashes. In one account, a division manager for the agency's regulatory said agency supervisors would not allow him to participate in the IG investigation. | | | | A NEW YEAR, A NEW HUDDLE: Huddle, our daily must-read in congressional offices, will have a new author in 2021! Olivia Beavers will take the reins on Jan. 4, and she has some big plans in store. Don't miss out, subscribe to our Huddle newsletter, the essential guide to all things Capitol Hill. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | DRONE WARS: If you thought the debate over whether the U.S. should take additional federal actions against Chinese-made drones was over this year, you were wrong. Despite lawmakers' decision to reject a proposed ban from a compromise national defense bill that cleared both chambers, the Trump administration on Friday added Chinese drone maker DJI to a trade blacklist. The company is now on the same Commerce Department entity list as Huawei and dozens of other Chinese companies whose activities the department says have raised national security concerns. During a press call Friday, Commerce officials specifically cited DJI's role in helping the Chinese government surveil minority populations in the northwestern Xinjiang region, Tibet and elsewhere. What it might mean: U.S. companies are restricted from doing business with firms on the entity list. The decision to blacklist DJI comes after several agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Interior, restricted their use of Chinese drone equipment that they said might be used to spy and steal sensitive data. Trump also again threatened to veto the NDAA last week, saying his veto would "make China very unhappy" because Chinese officials "love" the bill. What industry is saying: DJI later said in a statement to MT that U.S. customers "can continue to buy and use DJI products normally." Still, the company said it was "disappointed in the U.S. Department of Commerce's decision." Skydio — a U.S-based rival and one of the biggest industry backers of ban proposals — issued its own withering statement saying that by placing DJI on the entity list, the administration had sent "an unmistakable signal to the marketplace" that "companies should think twice about doing business with a known violator of human rights." THE WAITING ROOM: House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Friday ratcheted up the pressure for DHS to provide information about employee access to coronavirus testing and vaccines. His action followed reports that agency leaders were pushing TSA workers to seek priority vaccine access from local health departments and other agencies. Thompson said he was concerned that DHS was not "adequately prepared" to provide vaccines, and noted the "concerning" rise in the number of DHS employees infected with the virus. State of affairs: Thompson's push came after The Washington Post first reported Friday that TSA's chief medical officer had instructed federal security directors across the country to encourage their employees to see whether they would be eligible to receive vaccines from local health agencies or the Departments of Veteran Affairs or Defense, if they were veterans or members of the armed services. A TSA spokesperson later told POLITICO that "discussion and planning for the vaccination of TSA's workforce continues," and that the chief medical officer was simply "seeking the most expeditious path forward for vaccinations." MEANWHILE AT CHECKPOINTS: TSA screened more than 1 million people on both Friday and Saturday. Agency spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said it's the first time that many people have passed through checkpoints on two consecutive days since the pandemic started. Health officials, meanwhile, continue to fret over the possibility that another holiday travel surge could further spike U.S. coronavirus cases. | | | IN THE NICK OF TIME: NJ Transit has met the FRA deadline to implement positive train control, with two weeks to spare, POLITICO Pro's Samantha Maldonado reported . "We now will have a level of safety and assurance that we have long aspired to," Gov. Phil Murphy said during an event Friday. FRA said in November that NJ Transit was the only agency it considered at risk of missing the Dec. 31 deadline. Missing the deadline could have resulted in hefty fines or suspended service for the agency. | | | | A message from Responsibility.org:   | | | | | | MAKING MOVES: Transportation policy lover and former MT scribe Adam Snider will take over as director of communications for the Governors Highway Safety Association early next year. Snider most recently served as a spokesperson for the Electrification Coalition. Paula Gonzalez is joining the American Association of Port Authorities as its new membership services director. And Jennifer Wilk will step in as AAPA's new public affairs director. | | | DOT appropriations run out today. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,013 days. The surface transportation reauthorization expires in 283 days. | | A message from Responsibility.org: December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. Each year, nearly a million people are arrested for impaired driving. Though laws and processes vary by state, each of them goes through a similar experience after an officer observes suspicious driving: Detection/arrest, awaiting and preparing for trial, screening and assessment, the court process/sentencing, supervision, and treatment. StopHRID.org identifies common challenges as well as system improvements and how to implement them in order to eliminate impaired driving, especially among high-risk impaired drivers. Responsibility.org has collaborated with key partners in the fields of traffic safety, criminal justice, and supervision and treatment to eliminate impaired driving. The DUI system is complex and contains many gaps and addressing those issues requires practitioners, policymakers, and the public to better understand those gaps and how the system operates and reforms that are needed to effectively reduce recidivism and fatalities. StopHRID.org | | | | | | — NHTSA releases 2019 crash fatality data. — "John Barrasso: Confirmations for Biden nominees 'not going to be a garden party.'" POLITICO. — "Who gets the vaccine first? Furious lobbying by interest groups." The New York Times. — "European neighbours restrict travel to Britain as new coronavirus strain spreads." Reuters. — "New York City traffic deaths rise during Covid-19 pandemic." The Wall Street Journal. — "For Garcetti, there's no escape from L.A." POLITICO. — "How to keep the bike boom from fizzling out." The Verge. Did we miss an event? Let MT know at transpocalendar@politicopro.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment