| | | | | |  | | By Kayla Guo | Presented by Moms Clean Air Force | With help from Alex Daugherty and Tanya Snyder
| | — The Biden administration wants to fundamentally reshape passenger rail. Freight railroads could derail that vision. — American Airlines and JetBlue must unwind a merger after a federal judge in Boston ruled in favor of the Justice Department in a rare win for DOJ. — The House Transportation Committee will mark up its supply chain package, which includes 18 bills on issues from commercial driver’s license exams to environmental reviews at ports. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. I’m your host, Kayla Guo. Send tips, thoughts, song lyrics and recipes you like to kguo@politico.com. Find us on Twitter @kaylaguo_, @alextdaugherty and @TSnyderDC. “She's Amtrak and ain't coming back / She's Amtrak and ain't coming back / She took everything she wanted in an old gunny sack / She's Amtrak and ain't coming back.”
| | | | A message from Moms Clean Air Force: Trucks and buses play a huge role in our lives, but the pollution they generate is dangerous for our families—and for our climate. We can clean up transportation pollution by putting more electric vehicles on the road. Find out more about Moms Clean Air Force’s longstanding advocacy to secure stronger protections from tailpipe pollution for people and for the planet. | | | | | FREIGHTS VS. AMTRAK: Democrats want to transform passenger rail in America, with $66 billion in infrastructure law funding to do it. But President Joe Biden’s vision for rail — a much bigger network that offers a reliable alternative to gas-guzzling cars — could fall apart unless freight railroads, which have been hyper-focused on their own profitability, play ball. Your MT host has more. — Expanding passenger service outside the Northeast Corridor will mean running on freight track — but freights have fought expansions in the past, and hashing out how much Amtrak will have to pay to access freight lines can take years. And as the administration seeks to meet the infrastructure law’s new mandate to expand passenger rail, freight railroads could drag out that process and ultimately make it Congress’ problem to resolve. “There’s very little motivation again on the side of the freight rail people,” said former Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). “There has to be something to bring them to the table, and it isn’t, you know, being good neighbors.” — Railroads have had “productive conversations” with the Biden administration about how the infrastructure law’s “priorities can be best implemented to balance the need to move more goods and people over rail,” a spokesperson for the Association of American Railroads said. Projects are more likely to succeed “if all parties are at the table from the beginning of the process. This path must not be seen as a barrier, but rather a means to achieve what we all want — the long-term success of passenger rail service and a healthy freight rail system that powers the nation’s economy.”
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | AA AND JETBLUE LOSE: In a much-needed win for the Justice Department under the Biden administration’s aggressive campaign against anti-competitive practices, American Airlines and JetBlue must unwind a partnership that lets them cooperate on flights throughout the Northeastern U.S. after a federal judge in Boston ruled in favor of the DOJ, which argued that the merger would lower competition and raise fares. Josh Sisco has more. — Federal antitrust prosecutors have lost three out of five merger trials under the leadership of Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, so this win gives the DOJ a boost in its still-pending suit against a merger between JetBlue and Spirit.
| | T&I TO VOTE ON 18-BILL SUPPLY CHAIN PACKAGE: The House Transportation Committee plans to mark up its supply chain package this week, with at least 18 bills on the table addressing topics, including foreign ownership of U.S. marine terminals, the rules for commercial driver’s license exams, environmental reviews at ports and more. Truck drivers could finally get relief from the scarcity of safe truck parking — a major priority for the industry — and foreign shipping exchanges could be subject to more scrutiny, targeting Chinese business practices that U.S. agricultural interests argue are harmful. Tanya has the full list. PARTISAN FISSURES: Not all of the bills have bipartisan support. Democrats have rejected past iterations of some of the bills offered, including one requiring DOT to promote the infrastructure law’s apprenticeship program, which allows drivers between the age of 18 and 21 to drive trucks on the interstates. They’ll also oppose two bills that would allow heavier trucks, one of which allows automobile transporters up to 88,000 pounds and one launching a 10-year “pilot” program under which states could allow trucks up to 91.000 pounds on interstate highways. The current limit is 80,000 pounds. OPPOSITION TO BIGGER TRUCKS: Law enforcement, labor unions, safety groups, the rail industry and local governments have all voiced their opposition to the inclusion of that bill, citing heavy trucks’ higher crash rate and saying a 10-year “pilot” — lasting the length of two normal surface transportation authorizations — is not a pilot at all. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), one of the sponsors of that bill, said allowing trucks to carry more cargo lets drivers do in one trip what would otherwise take two, lowering emissions and streamlining the supply chain.
| | | | A message from Moms Clean Air Force:   | | | | | BLET WINS PAID SICK LEAVE: Norfolk Southern and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen reached an agreement to provide the railroad’s engineers with seven days of paid sick leave, plus the ability to use two days of PTO as sick leave. This is the first time engineers at a major freight railroad have successfully secured paid sick leave, and the agreement applies to roughly a quarter of Norfolk Southern’s unionized workforce, according to a union press release Friday. — Norfolk Southern, like several other major railroads, has reached agreements with individual unions on paid sick leave in the months since the issue almost prompted a rail strike that would have paralyzed the national freight rail system. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw had demurred when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tried to get him to commit to providing paid sick leave — one of the changes DOT is seeking — during a March hearing on the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | | | | DEAL REACHED: American Airlines pilots reached a tentative labor deal on Friday, a week after voting to authorize a strike. Details of the agreement weren’t immediately made public and will need to be ratified by the union’s 13,000 pilots, but the package will likely include significant raises. United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and FedEx pilots are still in negotiations, though it is unlikely that a labor dispute will result in a work stoppage during the summer travel season because airline workers and their employers must exhaust bargaining options and Congress has the ability to intervene. Pilots at Delta Air Lines reached a labor agreement in March. DRONES IN THE HOUSE: Two House Transportation Committee members introduced the House companion to a Senate bill, S. 307 (118), that would standardize the approvals process for beyond visual line of sight drone operations. The bill, H.R. 3459 (118) is a top priority for drone interests in this year’s FAA reauthorization. Reps. Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.) and Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the House bill, which Small UAV Coalition Aviation Counsel Greg Walden said “will increase efficiencies by providing structural reforms to the FAA certification and approval process.” WON’T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN? A group of Georgia Democrats introduced a bill today that would require the FAA to conduct a study of children’s safety needs at airports and on planes. Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) said the study would help answer questions about the safety of holding children in-flight, which the NTSB has long argued against (though the solution of buying a ticket for young children would make flying more expensive for families). Williams said she held her young son while flying, “but I always worried what would happen if we hit turbulence.” “The Kids Fly Safe Act will be the first comprehensive study of child safety in the domestic aviation industry so we can make flying safer for everyone — no matter their age,” Williams said.
| | | | A TRADE HEADACHE: The Biden administration faces a complex steel and energy trade puzzle with potential national security implications as it pushes forward with a new industrial policy that is ramping up nationwide demand for transformers — a key power grid component in extremely short supply. And that shortage is only expected to be exacerbated as laws like the IRA push investments into EV charging stations and other power-hungry sectors. — But the only U.S. producer of the specialty steel needed to make the units, Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs, says it won't ramp up production unless the Biden administration puts additional duties in place, Doug Palmer reports. The Biden administration so far has resisted that course, but is calling for Congress to provide billions of dollars to spur domestic transformer production.
| | — “American Airlines is doubling down on DFW Airport with $1.6 billion extension.” Dallas Morning News. — “Fleet-focused Chevy Silverado EV to debut with 450-mile range.” Automotive News. — “Hertz apologizes after refusing rental to Puerto Rican.” CNN. — “Metro’s Potomac Yard Station opens, anchoring a quickly growing neighborhood.” DCist.
| | | | A message from Moms Clean Air Force: Heavy-duty trucks shouldn’t be a heavy-duty problem for people’s health—and the health of our planet.
Moms Clean Air Force—a national organization with more than 1.5 million members—is urging EPA to finalize strong protections against climate pollution from the new trucks and buses that will be on the market in a few years.
We cannot miss this opportunity to clean up truck pollution, create new jobs—and protect people's health. Find out more about why Moms Clean Air Force is in high gear on a mission-critical transition to zero-emitting vehicles. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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