INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Devex: Transportation: A crucial piece of the climate puzzle
https://www.devex.com/news/transportation-a-crucial-piece-of-the-climate-puzzle-87456
As a necessary element of most economic activities, transportation has always been crucial to inclusive growth and poverty eradication. And as markets expand and cities and countries develop more rapidly than ever before, setting things right in the sector is an integral part of solving the climate problem.
NATIONAL NEWS
The Hill: Mileage-based gas tax backers tout $305B highway bill
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/262365-mileage-based-gas-tax-backers-tout-305b-highway-bill
Backers of a plan to tax drivers based on how many miles they travel instead of how many gallons of they buy are touting the recently approved $305 billion highway bill that was passed by lawmakers.
STATE NEWS
Atlanta Magazine: Atlanta’s bike share program delayed until summer 2016
Atlanta has never been what you’d consider a bike-friendly city. Ever tried pedaling down Courtland Street? Or Memorial Drive? Or Martin Luther King Jr. Drive?
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Light rail, trolley system could be in Vegas' future
Light rail, new pedestrian bridges over the Strip, a downtown Las Vegas trolley system and the connection of the city's major convention centers would be in the city's future under an ambitious transportation plan that would cost more than $12 billion and take decades to complete.
The Atlantic’s City Lab: How Colleges are Stepping Up Campus Walkability
http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/12/how-colleges-are-stepping-up-campus-walkability/419220/
Two University of Kentucky students pause in front of a streetlamp in the middle of campus. One holds his phone up to a bright blue sign attached to the pole, and steadies his camera over a QR code.
The New York Times: Federal Transportation Bill Is a Boon for the New Hudson Rail Tunnel, Officials Say
Near the site where a new rail tunnel could one day run under the Hudson River, officials said on Monday that a recently passed federal transportation bill would make it easier to secure funding for the long-awaited project.
CommonWealth: A tale of two transit systems
http://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/a-tale-of-two-transit-systems/
OUR FUTURE, ROBERT KENNEDY ONCE SAID, lies beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. This was an optimistic view of our ability to anticipate (rather than predict) the future, and act decisively upon it. Anticipating the future – understanding trends, changing paradigms and preferences, shifting demographics – is easier to do than ever before because we have unprecedented access to data that helps inform decision making. So there’s no excuse for failing to act decisively on the growing threat that we are moving, slowly but surely, toward a stratified transit system.
The Atlantic’s City Lab: What the New Federal Highway Act Means for U.S. Cities
It’s official—America’s new five-year, $305-billion transportation bill, dubbed the FAST act, became law on Friday with President Obama’s signature. The passage of long-term legislation amid the general gridlock of the current Congress is certainly a form of progress in its own right. But far less clear, as experts and advocates wade through the 1,300-page tome, is whether or not U.S. cities made out well in the deal.
The Washington Post: Dept. of Transportation offers $40M prize to most innovative mid-sized city
The federal government on Monday dangled up to $40 million for the first mid-sized city to come up with a plan to catapult itself into the technological future.
The Washington Post: Plans for higher-speed rail between Richmond and Washington on track
Virginia is moving forward with a plan to speed train travel between Washington and Richmond by 2025.
POLTICO Morning Transportation
By Jennifer Scholtes and Martine Powers | 12/08/2015 05:44 AM EDT
With help from Heather Caygle and Lauren Gardner
HOUSE SET TO HANDILY PASS VISA WAIVER BILL: Opponents of the House proposal to revamp the Visa Waiver Program continue to register concerns as the chamber prepares to vote on passage of the measure (H.R. 158) this afternoon. But those last-minute objections aren't expected to sink the bill, which is being queued up under suspension of the rules, allowing for speedier debate and requiring the support of two-thirds of those voting for passage.
As we reported last week, leaders from both parties have predicted this will be a slam-dunk vote. And President Barack Obama said Sunday that he supports "stronger screening for those who come to America without a visa."
'Grave reservations': Still, the Congressional Progressive Caucus passed on a letter to lawmakers Monday afternoon from the ACLU, which argues in the missive that the bill "arbitrarily discriminates against nationals of Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan who are citizens of visa waiver program ('VWP') countries - based on their nationality and parentage." The civil liberties group is calling on Congress to delete language that would strip Visa Waiver privileges for Iraqi and Syrian nationals; to expand exemptions to include journalists, researchers, human rights investigators and other professionals; and to limit the travel restrictions to two years. "In the absence of such changes, we have grave reservations about this proposal," the letter says.
The National Iranian American Council's nonprofit sister agency has also reached out to lawmakers, trying to cull opposition to the legislation. "NIAC Action strongly urges your boss to vote against this bill or demand that it be amended so as not to trigger discrimination against Iranian-Americans or other Americans based on national origin," the group wrote in an email to House aides on Monday.
IT'S TUESDAY: Good morning and thanks for tuning into POLITICO's Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
Reach out: [jscholtes@politico.com]jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes.
"That Cadillac is falling apart - won't start. A private plane would be smart."
NELSON PLANS AIRPORT SECURITY MEASURE ROLLOUT TODAY: Sen. Bill Nelson has for days been foreshadowing the introduction of legislation he says would "tighten internal security at airports across the country," and today's supposed to be the day for that unveiling. In a sweeping floor speech on Monday about U.S. counterterrorism weaknesses, the senator mentioned the suspected bombing in late October of a Russian airliner above the northern Sinai, airport workers charged last year with running more than 100 guns on flights between Atlanta and New York, and the prevalence of airport perimeter breaches highlighted earlier this year. Nelson says his bill would require enhanced background checks for airport employees and order the TSA to further increase screening of aviation workers.
Just the beginning: In the House, Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul said Monday that the chamber's efforts to overhaul visa vetting and aviation security won't end with passage this week of legislation to revamp the Visa Waiver program. Using his panel's report this summer on foreign fighters as a guide, McCaul says the committee's members will "introduce a slate of new bills" in the "coming weeks" with the aim of "enhancing the security of the visa process, developing a national strategy to combat terrorist travel, improving information sharing here at home, and helping foreign partners address security weaknesses."
NO DICE ON SPENDING DEAL AS DEADLINE NEARS: Focused on the policy spoils possible in must-pass legislation, congressional leaders tasked with reaching a compromise to fund the federal government beyond Friday's appropriations deadline are still far from a final deal. POLITICO's John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman explain that "with negotiations over a massive $1.1 trillion budget package moving at a glacial pace, GOP leaders are now openly predicting that Congress will blow past a Dec. 11 deadline for funding the federal government. ... Top Republicans have vowed they won't allow a government shutdown. ... Yet bitter policy fights are delaying a deal. ... A Democratic aide said the party is resigned to the near-certainty that a short-term funding bill will be needed to avert a shutdown on Friday. But Democratic leaders are adamant that they won't accept an extension that goes longer than a week."
Bargaining chips: Because new House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell don't want to see a government shutdown on their watch, Democratic lawmakers and the White House are using the threat of such an outcome to their advantage. John and Jake note that "Democrats can maximize their negotiating leverage by keeping their rank-and-file lawmakers in line, backed up by a veto threat from President Barack Obama. Yet there's a limit on how far Democrats and the White House can push Ryan and McConnell. If the Republican leaders run out of patience, they could put a 'clean' funding bill on the floor that funds government operations at the previously agreed-upon levels - and rely on GOP votes, plus a handful of Democrats, to pass it."
LIPS ZIPPED ON TRUCKING NEGOTIATIONS: Lobbying for (or against) pet issues is reaching a fever pitch on Capitol Hill this week as lawmakers try to clinch a deal on the omnibus spending deal. Where do extra-long tractor trailers fit into those talks? Members in both chambers won't say. "Why are you continuing to write about this?" Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a vocal detractor of allowing longer trucks on the interstate, (jokingly) asked our Lauren Gardner before declining to comment Monday on the closed-door negotiations.
Staying relevant: Well, it's because safety groups are making sure the issue doesn't fall off the radar. "A major national policy change to allow Double 33' trailer trucks on our nation's highways being pushed by a few select trucking companies would override states' rights, jeopardize safety and damage our nation's already-crumbling infrastructure," a coalition of safety advocates wrote on Friday to the GOP and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees.
EYES - OR EARS - ON THE SKIES: Fed up with "new and outrageous airplane noise during sleeping hours," District Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is calling for the omnibus spending bill to include language that would require the FAA to reach out to communities before instituting new NextGen flight patterns, as Lauren reports. "FAA has been in the air while ignoring communities on the ground," Norton wrote in a letter to House and Senate spending subcommittees. She's advocating the adoption and expansion of an amendment first introduced by Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, whose constituents in Arizona have also fallen victim to the woeful and wayward whirr of passing aircraft.
INHOFE LOOKS DOWN THE ROAD: Three days after the five-year transportation bill (H.R. 22) was signed into law, Sen. Jim Inhofe was still beaming as he rode the elevator up to the Senate chamber for Monday evening votes, our Martine Powers reports. "If you read the Constitution, this is what we're supposed to be doing," he said. "We're supposed to be defending America, and we're supposed to do roads and highways." That feeling of victory has got him so hyped, he's already gearing up for the next go-around - five years from now. "I want to be looking down the road so we don't have to go through this again. Assuming I'm around here at the time," Inhofe said, "I want to be ready when this thing expires with another bill."
WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME?: The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has made its pick to fill the newly created position of chief of rail and public transportation: Peter Burrus, formerly of CSX Transportation in Nashville, Chicago and South Carolina. No newcomer to the region, Burrus is a Richmond native.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: POLITICO Influence reports that Scott Reed filed a flurry of lobbying reports Friday, a day after a Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington report called out the missing disclosures. His clients included US Airways and Bridgestone Firestone. (He didn't answer a request for comment.)
Also from PI: In New York, Uber has had eight different firms represent it in recent months. It spent $597,792 in the first 10 months of 2015, which should put it on pace to finish among the year's 25 highest-spending lobby clients.
MT MAILBAG: In a letter to the eight members of the Chicago-area congressional delegation, the chairman of the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority urged home state legislators to establish permanent parity in the upcoming tax extenders package between tax benefits for transit riders and drivers. "The transit benefit not only makes it more affordable for people to get to work, it also reduces the amount that companies and other employers pay for payroll taxes," wrote Chairman Kirk W. Dillard.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
- Foxx announces $40 million grant for transportation innovation in midsize city. POLITICO Pro.
- Accessibility advocate says Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is no person of the year. BuzzFeed.
- Canadian Pacific expected to revise terms of bid for Norfolk Southern. The Wall Street Journal.
- Despite push for cleaner cars, sheer numbers could work against climate benefits. The New York Times.
- Airbus eyes 2015 win over Boeing as orders hit 1,000. Reuters.
- Tesla hopes hiring 1,656 people will make it profitable. Bloomberg Business.
- More drivers using Uber as side work. POLITICO Pro.
THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 4 days. FAA reauthorization expires in 116 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 338 days.
THE DAY AHEAD:
All day - The Telecommunications Industry Association hosts a workshop on how communications is changing vehicles and operations. 1320 N. Courthouse Rd., Ste. 200, Arlington, Va., and webcast.
All day - The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement hosts a maritime drone conference. Sheraton Pentagon City, 900 S. Orme St., Arlington, Va.
8:30 a.m. - The FAA holds a meeting of an RTCA special committee on aeronautical information and meteorological data link services. RTCA Inc., 1150 18th St. N.W., Suite 910.
9 a.m. - The FAA hosts an RTCA special committee meeting on rechargeable lithium batteries and battery systems. RTCA Inc., 1150 18th St. N.W., Suite 910.
9 a.m. - The FAA hosts an RTCA special committee meeting on terrain awareness warning systems. RTCA Inc., 1150 18th St. N.W., Suite 450.
10 a.m. - The House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee holds a roundtable meeting on FAA air traffic controller staffing. 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.
1 p.m. - The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security holds a hearing on aviation threats and security at last point of departure airports. 311 Cannon House Office Building.
2 p.m. - The House Oversight Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets holds a hearing on program consolidation under MAP-21. 2247 Rayburn House Office Building.
2 p.m. - Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind hold a press conference to announce plans for "significant enhancements" to the department's New Car Assessment Program. DOT, 1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E., courtyard between the west and east buildings.
Did we miss an event? Let MT know at transpocalendar@politicopro.com .
Stories from POLITICO Pro
McCaul: More travel and aviation security bills to come Back
By Jennifer Scholtes | 12/08/2015 05:44 AM EDT
House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul says the House's efforts to overhaul visa vetting and aviation security won't end with passage this week of a bill to revamp the Visa Waiver program.
Using his panel's report this summer on disrupting foreign fighter travel as a guide, the panel's members "will introduce a slate of new bills" in the coming weeks to keep terrorists from making it to U.S. soil, the chairman told an audience during his "State of Homeland Security" speech this afternoon.
"This will include enhancing the security of the visa process, developing a national strategy to combat terrorist travel, improving information sharing here at home and helping foreign partners address security weaknesses," McCaul said. "We will push forward as well with legislation to enhance airport security and to streamline the Department of Homeland Security into a more focused counterterrorism organization."
Reuters reported on Sunday, citing a Senate Democratic aide, that lawmakers in that chamber plan to lay out a package of proposals this week to tighten domestic security, including a plan "to make airports safe by beefing up Transportation Security Administration operations," language "making it harder for people on 'terror watch lists' to buy weapons and explosives," and provisions that would require visa interviews for foreigners who have traveled to Iraq or Syria.
Congress likely to blow budget deadline Back
By John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman | 12/08/2015 05:44 AM EDT
With negotiations over a massive $1.1 trillion budget package moving at a glacial pace, GOP leaders are now openly predicting that Congress will blow past a Dec. 11 deadline for funding the federal government.
Both sides appear to be notching wins in the high-stakes talks. Republicans are confident they'll be able to lift a ban on exporting crude oil , though the GOP is wary of acceding to Democratic demands on environmental policy in return for allowing such sales. Democrats are relieved Republicans aren't fighting to strip funds from Planned Parenthood.
One major open question is how Congress will handle the Syrian refugee crisis, and whether the issue gets caught up in the year-end spending fight. The House will vote Tuesday to tighten restrictions on visa-free travel by visitors to the U.S. GOP leaders privately hope that the vote will take pressure off them to include additional certifications for Syrian and Iraqi refugees to the U.S. in the must-pass spending bill. President Barack Obama and Democrat have strongly opposed inclusion of any refugee language in the omnibus bill.
Yet there are still big disputes between the two parties over environmental policy provisions, including global warming and clean water programs. The disagreements have Democrats vowing to oppose the omnibus package in its current form. Furthermore, Republicans are planning to go it alone on a massive, two-year package of popular tax breaks, known as extenders, after talks all but broke down with Democrats.
The current government funding bill expires on Friday, but Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said an agreement is unlikely by then.
"When it comes to the [omnibus], I'm seriously looking at having us in on Friday or over the weekend to get our work done," McCarthy said during a press conference on Monday. The California Republican said he did not anticipate any problem passing a stopgap spending bill to keep federal agencies open beyond Friday.
Top Republicans have vowed they won't allow a government shutdown; the last one, in 2013, was seen as a debacle for the party. Yet bitter policy fights are delaying a deal.
"We thought we had an agreement. And we're moving very substantially through the weekend," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. "But ... complications with the tax extenders have been a bit of a setback. But we were making great progress on the money and I felt great progress on the [policy] riders. Right now we seem to be stuck."
House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) told reporters that he expected to release a two-year tax extenders proposal on Monday evening.
The tax-extender package and the spending bill are the final major two items Congress needs to complete before the end of the year, and the negotiations over them have become intertwined. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will oppose both packages as they are currently drafted.
"Following our Caucus and Whip meetings last week, it was clear that Democrats cannot support an omnibus that includes the poison pill riders inserted by the Republican leadership. Furthermore, there is very little support for the tax extenders bill as written. There is also strong opposition to any thought of combining these bills," Pelosi wrote in a letter to fellow Democrats.
"On the omnibus bill, House Democrats accepted the Republican budget number. We accepted how they decided to distribute the funds from the budget agreement. In order for us to support the omnibus bill, the poison pill riders must go."
Democrats on Capitol Hill and the White House are using the threat of a shutdown as leverage against Republicans during the budget and tax talks, knowing that neither Ryan nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell McConnell want to risk their majorities by allowing one to occur. Democrats can maximize their negotiating leverage by keeping their rank-and-file lawmakers in line, backed up by a veto threat from President Barack Obama.
Yet there's a limit on how far Democrats and the White House can push Ryan and McConnell. If the Republican leaders run out of patience, they could put a "clean" funding bill on the floor that funds government operations at the previously agreed-upon levels - and rely on GOP votes, plus a handful of Democrats, to pass it. Even if Hill Democrats complained, Obama would likely sign such a measure to avoid a shutdown.
Ryan and McConnell would be loathe to take such a step, however, and senior House and Senate GOP aides vow a budget deal will come together.
A Democratic aide said the party is resigned to the near-certainty that a short-term funding bill will be needed to avert a shutdown on Friday. But Democratic leaders are adamant that they won't accept an extension that goes longer than a week.
"There is no stomach for it," the staffer said.
The dispute over Syrian refugees has been among the most acrimonious. With GOP presidential candidates demanding stricter controls on refugees, Republican leaders in Congress have worked to include a provision in the budget calling for increased federal scrutiny of entrants from the war-torn country. Obama has pledged to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to resettle in the United States.
Although the House passed a bill recently to tighten controls on Syrian refugees, the White House and top Democrats have strenuously objected to including refugee language in the spending bill. And Republican leaders are slowly starting to acknowledge that it may not be possible to include it in the omnibus package.
As what some Republicans are privately calling a "safety valve," language addressing the visa waiver program may be included instead.
"I think that's going to be dealt with in the omnibus, is my understanding," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, referring to visa waiver language.
Lauren French and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
Norton urges appropriators to address flight noise in omnibus Back
By Lauren Gardner | 12/08/2015 05:44 AM EDT
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is calling on Transportation Department appropriators to include language in a catchall spending package requiring the FAA to reach out to communities before it institutes new flight patterns - and to broaden its reach to the Washington area.
The provision by GOP Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake was approved unanimously in the Senate last month during debate on the fiscal 2016 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development spending measure. The amendment was sparked by complaints from Phoenix-area residents who have faced additional airplane noise due to flight path changes linked to NextGen - modifications that a McCain spokeswoman said were made without much consultation between locals and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport officials.
"FAA has been in the air while ignoring communities on the ground," Norton said in a statement. "With more attention about the effects on communities on the ground, FAA also can ensure that airplane noise for communities across the U.S. is not the tradeoff."
The provision also would mandate a review of NextGen decisions that have already been made and require the agency to work with airports to mitigate the impact if concerns have been raised.
The amendment is geared toward categorical exclusions, which federal agencies can invoke when they believe deeper environmental study of an issue is unwarranted. Norton asked appropriators to expand the amendment to cover environmental assessments - the next step up the environmental review ladder - where "findings of no significant impacts" were made so that it would apply to NextGen flight path changes at Washington-area airports.
Foxx announces $40 million grant for transportation innovation in midsize city Back
By Martine Powers | 12/08/2015 05:44 AM EDT
The Department of Transportation will offer $40 million to a midsize city that comes up with the most innovative plan to use technology to change transportation.
The "Smart City Challenge," announced by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a conference call this afternoon, is designed to encourage cities to develop ambitious plans to revolutionize their transportation landscape.
The winning candidate, Foxx said, will get the money "to become the first city in the world to implement that vision."
But unlike many federal grant programs, he said, there are almost no restrictions on the kind of technology or approach that DOT officials will consider. In short, he said: Anything goes.
"I know folks are used to government programs where we lay out 15 different criteria and we say this is exactly what we're looking for," Foxx said. "I'm not trying to hide the ball here in terms of what we're looking for. We entered this challenge knowing that we will find applications coming to us that may stretch beyond what we envisioned."
The winning city will also be awarded an additional $10 million from Vulcan Inc., a philanthropic and investing company with a focus on tech innovation.
Applications for the grant will be due Feb. 4. A set of five finalists will be announced in May, with a final winner picked in June. That winner will be chosen by a team of judges from various administrations within the DOT.
Uber: More drivers using Uber as side work Back
By Marianne LeVine | 12/08/2015 05:44 AM EDT
More drivers are using Uber as an additional rather than a sole source of income, according to a new company survey.
The survey found 69 percent of Uber drivers had other full-time or part-time work, an increase from 62 percent in December 2014. Fifty-percent drove fewer than 10 hours a week and 88 percent began driving with Uber "because it fit their life well, not because it was their only option," the survey said.
In addition, the number of women driving with Uber went up. Women comprised 19 percent of all Uber drivers, an increase from 14 percent in December 2014.