To:
Jackson, Ryan[jackson.ryan@epa.gov]
From: Morning Transportation
Sent: Tue 8/1/2017 2:03:31 PM
Subject: POLITICO'S Morning Transportation: Stepping on the gas -- Cole stands against ATC
overhaul -- Kelly cleans house -- Duncan peacing out
By Brianna Gurciullo and Stephanie Beasley | 08/01/2017 10:00 AM EDT
With help from Tanya Snyder and Annie Snider
STEPPING ON THE GAS: The Trump administration hopes the House will pass a tax code overhaul in October and the Senate will then clear it in November, leaving about a month left in the year for Congress to potentially move on an infrastructure package. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has said for months that we'll see a legislative proposal in the fall, but the chances of enacting a bill before year's end - especially when such a thing doesn't yet exist - look slim at the moment.
First things first: GOP lawmakers have long put overhauling the tax code before an infrastructure package on their to-do list (though, some have suggested they could be paired). Now, Republicans clearly want a legislative win after their unsuccessful effort to repeal Obamacare. And, as Pro Tax's Aaron Lorenzo reports, they're aiming to give the economy a boost through their tax code changes before the midterm elections. "So that, I think, is an aggressive schedule but that is our timetable," Marc Short, the White House's director of legislative affairs, said on Monday about the administration's expectations for October and November. "I think we're in for a long fall, legislative calendar-wise."
On the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Monday that infrastructure is still very much on Trump's mind. "The president's been very outspoken on the need for a massive overhaul to the country's infrastructure system, and that's certainly still a priority - both legislative and in any capacity that he has the ability to carry that out," she said.
COLE STANDS AGAINST ATC OVERHAUL: Speaking of to-do lists, the House will have just 12 legislative days to reauthorize (or, more likely, extend) the FAA's expiring authorization when members come back in September. On Monday, Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican and appropriator, dedicated his "weekly column" to air traffic control, saying he thought last year's attempt to hand over air traffic control operations to a nonprofit corporation was "a terrible idea" then, and that he still disapproves.
Catching up with Cole: MT spoke with Cole before House lawmakers left town Friday, and he made it clear he would vote against severing air traffic control operations, as Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has proposed. Cole said that "most" of his fellow Oklahoma lawmakers, including Rep. Steve Russell, also oppose Shuster's plan. Russell and several other Republicans are pushing their colleagues to reject the House Transportation chairman's legislation, H.R. 2997 (.115).
Just one of those things: "It's another one of those cases where I think all the Democrats are against it. So given that, if you have much in the way of division on the Republican side, it
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becomes pretty dicey. And right now, I know they're working it hard, and they may get there, but I don't think the votes are there in the House, let alone the Senate," Cole said. "I think it's going to be very hard, quite frankly." Last month, Cole signed onto a letter with Russell - as well as Reps. Ralph Abraham, Ron Estes and Walter Jones - asking leadership to "prohibit any provision to privatize air traffic control operations from consideration on the House floor."
IT'S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO'S Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. Steph and Brianna are driving the MT train, so please send along tips, feedback and lyrics to sbeasley@politico.com or @Steph Beasley and bgurciullo@politico.com or @brigurciullo.
"Mr. Driver, I hear the music playin' and I see the lights / Will you throw me a ride?"
GET LISTENING: Follow MT's playlist on Spotify. What better way to start your day than with tunes (picked by us and readers) that are all about flying, driving, commuting and sailing?
SATAN'S SUBWAY? This New Yorker cover prompted a cackle from your MT scribes.
FOR YOUR RADAR: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will sit down today with "U.S. industry stakeholders" who asked to meet with him to talk about Open Skies and other issues, a State Department official told MT.
KELLY CLEANS HOUSE: Now-former Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly blasted into his first full day as White House chief of staff by ousting Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, putting folks on alert that he is about business. Just hours after Kelly was sworn in, news broke that Trump had dismissed Scaramucci per Kelly's request. Sources had speculated that Trump would look to Kelly, a retired Marine general, to help rein in the in-fighting and drama at 1600 Penn. Earlier in the day, Trump commended Kelly not only for his "record shattering" (albeit brief) tenure at DHS but also for handling controversial issues like border security without creating much controversy. "I predict that Gen. Kelly will go down in terms of the position of chief of staff [as] one of the great[est] ever," Trump said.
Before I let go: Before Kelly started setting off White House fireworks, he sent one last email to the "tremendous group of selfless public servants" at DHS announcing personnel changes, POLITICO'S Ted Hesson writes. Chip Fulghum, current acting undersecretary for management, will take over as deputy secretary now that Elaine Duke has assumed the role of acting secretary. And Duke's previous chief of staff, Chad Wolf, will be promoted to acting chief of staff for DHS. Kirstjen Nielsen surrendered her position as DHS chief of staff to follow Kelly to the White House.
DUNCAN PEACING OUT: Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.), a longtime member of the House Transportation Committee, won't campaign again to keep the seat he's had for almost three decades. "I have decided I wanted to spend less time in airports, airplanes, and traveling around the district and more time with my family, especially my nine grandchildren, who all live in Knoxville," Duncan told the Tennessean.
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News comes amid controversy: Early last month, the Nashville Post reported that Duncan "doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to his two sons, his niece, his son-in-law, his daughter-in-law and his sister for campaign work" over the course of the last 10 years. Pro Campaigns' Elena Schneider has more on Duncan's retirement plans.
BARLETTA EYES SENATE RUN: Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) is eyeing the Senate, The Associated Press reported Monday. The chairman of the House Transportation subcommittee on economic development wants to challenge Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) next year. Barletta was once a contender to be Trump's secretary of Transportation. As Pro Campaigns' Kevin Robillard reports , Trump carried Pennsylvania in 2016 and has recommended that Barletta face off against Casey or Pennsylvania's governor, Democrat Tom Wolf.
LOOK OUT: NTSB sent out an alert Monday cautioning about relying on just a lookout to tell track workers about oncoming trains. "If a watchman/lookout does not devote his or her full attention to their duty of looking for approaching trains, they might not provide warning of an approaching train with sufficient time for their coworkers to clear the tracks," Robert Sumwait, the acting chairman of NTSB, said in a release. An incident in which two employees died in South Dakota partially inspired the alert, NTSB said in the release. The docket for the probe into that January incident opened last week.
HIP PIPP HOORAY: DOT on Monday issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for "new, experimental procedures" to grow the use of public-private partnerships in transit projects. The newly proposed Private Investment Project Procedures (PIPP) would allow federal funding recipients to identify FTA regulations and practices "that may be an impediment" to the use of P3s or private investment and let them ask for a waiver of those requirements. The proposed rule was required by MAP-21.
'ALMOST' DOESN'T COUNT: States have ramped up their investment in bridge repair projects over the last decade, but it still isn't enough, according to a new analysis from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. The group marked the 10-year anniversary of the 1-35 bridge collapse in Minnesota by examining federal data that tracks investments in bridge work, finding that bridge construction had increased just 8 percent, from $54.6 billion in 2007 to $59.2 billion in 2016. At the current pace of investment it would take more than three decades to replace and repair every bridge that needs work, ARTBA Chief Economist Alison Premo Black said. The group said that "a long-term infrastructure package from Congress and a permanent revenue solution to the Highway Trust Fund would help states make greater progress."
CONTENTIOUS ASIAN CARP STUDY COMING NEXT WEEK: The Army Corps of Engineers has alerted lawmakers that it will release a draft plan for halting the spread of dangerous Asian carp into the Great Lakes on Aug. 7. The study was originally due out Feb. 28, but was put on hold by the Trump administration amid concerns from the barge industry that it could hamper navigation between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for the study's swift release, including through policy riders inserted in pending appropriations measures.
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SHIFTING GEARS: Valerie Jarrett, who was a senior adviser in the Obama administration, has become a member of Lyft's board of directors. Jarrett was previously Chicago's commissioner of planning and development and chairwoman of the Chicago Transit board, Pro Technology's Steven Overly reports.
THE AUTOBAHN: - "Most automakers slow to fix dangerous airbags." The Associated Press. - "Disabled travelers sue DOT to speed airline reporting about damaged wheelchairs." USA Today. - "World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Switzerland." CNN. - "Hyperloop will improve transportation and national security." The Baltimore Sun. (Op-Ed) - "Driving Tesla's Model 3 changes everything." Bloomberg. - "Child advocates urge back-seat alarms as 2 die in Arizona." The Associated Press. - "VW secured EU money by fraud for Dieselgate engine: watchdog." POLITICO Europe. - "Anthony Levandowski didn't make a deal with Uber until he was protected against possible lawsuits." Recode. THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 60 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 60 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 1,156 days. To view online'. http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-transportation/2017/08/01/stepping-on-the-gas221640
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