To:
Jackson, Ryan[jackson.ryan@epa.gov]
From: Morning Transportation
Sent: Mon 6/26/2017 2:04:26 PM
Subject: POLITICO'S Morning Transportation: House, Senate move forward on FAA, driverless cars --
Fact file about DOT'S general counsel nominee -- FAA wish lists
By Tanya Snyder | 06/26/2017 10:00 AM EDT
With help from Lauren Gardner
ALL ON THE SAME TEAM: After months of disorganization, the House and Senate are now marching forward in lockstep toward two distinct goals: reauthorizing the FAA and setting forth a legislative framework for the integration of autonomous vehicles.
Step one: FAA: The House and Senate are both marking up their FAA reauthorization bills this week - the House on Tuesday, the Senate on Thursday. Why the fast-walking? Because the FAA's current authorization to collect and spend the excise taxes that fuel the aviation system will expire Sept. 30, and lawmakers are trying to get a full reauthorization bill before they have to start breathing the E word. Even last year, House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) managed to get his bill out of committee, and that's likely to happen again this year. The real question mark hovers over floor consideration, which he's pushing for sometime next month.
Step two: driverless cars: The Energy and Commerce Committee will also begin discussing .13 bills they hope to roll into one big legislative package on driverless cars. Here, the House is slightly ahead of the Senate, where Commerce Committee leaders have put forth a set of "principles" regarding driverless car legislation and held a hearing on the issue but don't have any actual bills in front of them yet.
HAPPY MONDAY: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO'S Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. As always, send us tips, feedback and lyrics: tsiiyder@politico.com or @TSnyderDC and lgardner@politico.com or @GardnerJLM.
"I remember searching for the perfect words /1 was hoping you might change your mind /1 remember a. soldier sleeping next to me / Riding on the Metro." h/t Jennifer Mitchell, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation
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Programming note: Morning Transportation won't publish Monday, July 3, or Tuesday, July 4, in observance of the July 4 holiday.
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Tuesday - The House Transportation Committee marks up the FAA reauthorization bill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a hearing on self-driving vehicle legislation.
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ITIF hosts a Hill briefing on technological disruption in the labor market.
Wednesday - The Senate Commerce Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Steven Bradbury to be general counsel at the Department of Transportation.
Thursday - The Senate Commerce Committee marks up its FAA reauthorization bill.
ON THE FLOOR: The House this week will consider a bill (H.R. 1726) by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) that would, essentially, clean up the Coast Guard's statutory codes, reorganizing it to be more cohesive.
BRADBURY'S FACT FILE: DOT general counsel nominee Steven Bradbury was a donor and adviser to the campaigns of Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in 2016. He did not contribute to Trump's campaign, according to Bradbury's Senate questionnaire. And, as Eugene Mulero of Transport Topics pointed out, the two stains on Bradbury's otherwise pristine criminal record involve a $37 fine and one-point violation for failing to yield on a left turn in Montgomery County in 2002, and a $10 fine in 1981 for not paying his subway fare in New York City.
GIVE US A BREAK: The Teamsters are hoping the FAA bill won't get bogged down with non germane provisions - specifically, one that would preempt state laws requiring rest and meal breaks for truckers. Lawmakers have tried to insert such provisions into the FAST Act, the THUD appropriations bill and the last FAA bill, and failed each time, Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa noted in a letter sent to House Transportation Committee leaders on Friday. Hoffa accuses the trucking industry of trying to "muscle legislation through Congress that would rob their own workers of pay and safety protections."
GIT 'ER DONE: The National Association of Manufacturers wrote to House Transportation Committee leaders urging them to pass an FAA reauthorization by the September 30 deadline to prevent a shutdown, and to make sure a few key provisions are included. The organization is asking Congress to uncap the passenger facility charge so airports can modernize. They also want Congress to help speed up the aircraft certification process; maintain Open Skies agreements; stick to ICAO regulations on the shipping of lithium ion batteries - and pre-empt state laws on trucker rest and meal breaks. The group was silent on the air traffic control proposal, on which they have no public position, and which is the single biggest obstacle to enacting a long-term FAA bill before the deadline.
FLYING THE CYBER SKIES - The Senate FAA bill says that before the FAA should grants authorization for planes to fly, it should consider 1) whether the cybersecurity of plane electronics systems are up to snuff, and 2) whether planes prevent passengers from gaining access to flight guidance or aircraft control via in-flight entertainment systems. The latter provision appears to be a reaction to both controversial research and a disputed incident that raised questions about whether hackers can gain control of a plane via an entertainment system. Our friends over at Pro Cybersecurity have more.
WAY AHEAD OF YOU: Amtrak has already started making "significant progress" on
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correcting the problems identified in the inspector general's report we mentioned in MT last week, according to a spokeswoman. Before the IG report was finalized, they reorganized key programs, addressed a vendor performance issue "at the highest levels," and "only projects that delivered value to Amtrak were continued and unused funds were returned to the company." They expect more progress by the time their fiscal year ends September 30.
BUH-BYE B.A.T.: Despite the fervent support of Speaker Paul Ryan, House Republicans are ready to call it quits on his proposal to include a border adjustment tax in their tax overhaul plans, report Ben White and Colin Wilhelm. White House opposition spooked GOP leaders away from supporting the tax, which was estimated to net about $1 trillion in key offsets. Without it, it's unclear how Republicans will be able to push corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 15 percent as promised without adding to the deficit. The border adjustment tax was also public enemy number one for the auto industry, which warned that a BAT would increase the cost of a new car by an average of $2,000 per vehicle.
A DELAY A DAY: NHTSA has pushed back the effective date of a final rule adjusting civil penalties for fuel economy violations to inflation. The rule, issued in December, now won't take effect until July 10, according to a notice set to be scheduled in the Federal Register on Tuesday. The rule only affects vehicles for model year 2019 and beyond.
SHIFTING GEARS: Samantha Greene starts today as communications director for Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), a T&I member. Greene previously did comms for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
GONE TO THE DOGS: Check out this video of "take your dog to work day," including the inspiration for "Pets on Trains" - Lilly, the dog who owns Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.).
THE AUTOBAHN:
- Bills on high-speed rail, autonomous and electric vehicles teed up in the UK this year. GazetteLive.
- Potholes ahead for states looking to get into the self-driving car game. USA Today.
- "Autonomous high-speed trains expected to operate in France by 2023." Normangee Star.
- Oregon's pay-per-mile program refunds more than it earns in revenue. The Argus Observer.
- "Amazon's beehive idea for drone delivery in thickly populated urban centers." IredDrop.
- "De Blasio: I'm 'much less hopeful' about working with Trump." POLITICO.
- "Japanese airbag maker Takata files for bankruptcy, gets U.S. sponsor." Reuters.
- "Delays at Reagan National Airport as crews repair patch of main runway." The Washington Post.
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THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 97 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 97 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 1,193 days. To view online'. http://www.politico.eom/tipsheets/morning-transportation/2017/06/26/house-senate-moveforward-on-faa-dri verless-ca.rs-221031 To change your alert settings, please go to https://secure.politico.com/settings/settings
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