BAF IN THE NEWS:
Aviation Pros: ACI-NA Releases 2013 Capital Needs Survey
http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/10861052/aci-na-releases-2013-capital-needs-survey
The ACI-NA 2013 Capital Needs Survey provides information on all airport projects over the next five years, not just those that are Airport Improvement Program (AIP) eligible, as is the case with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) report.
The Blaze: WHO WILL REPLACE RAY LAHOOD?
http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2013/01/30/who-will-replace-ray-lahood/
Replacing the Transportation Secretary who tried to discourage most forms of transportation will be a big job. To be considered for such a prestigious position within the Obama administration, one must be pro-bicycle and anti-car, and have a real passion for “livable communities.”
The Morning Call: Ed Rendell as transportation secretary?
WASHINGTON — With the news that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is leaving the Obama administration, could a certain former Pennsylvania governor with an affinity for infrastructure be tapped to take his place?
The Handy Shipping Guide: Road Haulage and Rail Freight Community Regret LaHood's Resignation
Secretary for Transport Steps Down after Four Years
US – The likeable and effective Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, announced this week that he would remain in the job only long enough to settle his replacement in the position. Drivers of freight trucks and passenger cars alike will miss the Fast Lane twice daily blog in which LaHood unflinchingly warned of the dangers of distracted driving and other safety bête noirs. Lahood supported both the road haulage and rail cargo industries during his tenure and wrote an emotional e mail to all DoT employees this week telling of his decision.
Politico: Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett Featuring Kathryn A. Wolfe
1/31/13
SURPRISING NO ONE: Ed Rendell insists that Obama will not select the former Pennsylvania governor for the job, Colby Itkowitz reports. "The president would not be interested. … I'd be too critical of the lack of transportation funding. I want to continue influencing this from the outside." http://bit.ly/VsWrQm
Politico Pro: Advocates: CNN off-track on high-speed rail
CNN calls itself "the most trusted name in news.” But high-speed rail advocates beg to differ. Rail supporters are lashing out at a recent report on “Anderson Cooper 360” that questioned federal spending on high-speed rail, most of which came as an $8 billion allotment in the 2009 stimulus package.
Please find the full article following “State News.”
Jewish Voice NY: Kudos to Mike Bloomberg: Best Mayor of New York City
Just when the good citizens of the Big Apple thought that their mayor simply could not out do himself in terms of his propensity for giving to others; for imparting his resources in the name of higher cause, it turns out that Mayor Michael Bloomberg has done just that. His recent landmark donation of $350 million to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (his beloved alma mater) will go down in the annals of philanthropic rectitude as it marks a historic lifetime donation to the school of over $1 billion. No other person on planet earth has ever donated an amount of this size to a US university.
NATIONAL NEWS:
New York Times: Renewable Energy Industries Push for New Financing Options
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/renewable-energy-industries-push-for-new-financing-options/
For years, green energy industries like wind and solar have been telling Congress that they cannot yet compete with fossil fuels without hefty tax breaks intended especially for them.
Washington Post: Ray LaHood’s post-Cabinet prospects are good
We couldn’t help but feel sorry for Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood after he announced he was stepping down from his post once a successor is confirmed.
Progressive Railroading: FRA extends comment period for proposed PTC rulemaking
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has extended the deadline for submitting comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) involving positive train control (PTC) that originally was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 11.
Fast Lane: FTA continues to cut red tape, streamline processes
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2013/01/fta-continues-to-cut-red-tape-streamline-processes.html#.UQqDHh1EHjs
I recently wrote about the big step that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has taken to streamline its major capital construction program. This new rule saves taxpayers time and money by moving promising transit projects through the New Starts/Small Starts program more quickly and with an improved evaluation process. But even with the new rule, FTA continues looking for ways to cut red tape.
The Hill: Unions to Obama: Replace LaHood with transportation funding defender
Transportation unions are urging President Obama to appoint a staunch defender of federal road and transit funding to replace outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The Hill: Women in transportation group thanks LaHood for DOT work
A group that encourages women to seek employment in the transportation industry is thanking departing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for helping to boost their ranks during his tenure in office.
The Hill: LaHood laments GOP high-speed rail opposition in exit interview
Outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood criticized Republicans in Congress for opposing President Obama’s high-speed rail initiatives in an interview conducted after he announced his retirement.
NRDC Switchboard: Crowdfixing: Improving Transit with Social Media
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/crowdfixing_improving_transit.html
The internet is an integral part of mobility these days, regardless of the method one uses to travel: it can tell you what time your bus or train arrives, and where the nearest stop is. It can find you a ride from San Francisco to L.A. or Portland, or if you’re driving, find someone who can help pay for gas. And as I blogged about last month, it can even connect you with a nearby driver in real-time when you need to get across town. But can the web go beyond just making transportation easier for us, and actually improve the migraine-inducing daily commute?
STATE NEWS:
Governing Magazine: Virginia's Bold, New Transportation Funding Idea
http://www.governing.com/blogs/view/gov-virginias-bold-new-transportation-funding-idea.html
Virtually the entire transportation community is watching Virginia, where Gov. Bob McDonnell is pitching a plan to shore up his state's transportation funding that's radically different from just about every other proposal out there.
Transportation Nation: How Grand Central Terminal Transformed America
http://transportationnation.org/2013/01/30/how-grand-central-terminal-transformed-america/
New York’s Grand Central Terminal turns 100 this year. But when it opened, “it was neither grand nor central,” said writer Sam Roberts, the author of Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America. He talked about the origins of the iconic transit hub on Wednesday’s Leonard Lopate Show — and how it wound up transforming Midtown, spurring the growth of the suburbs, and even contributing to westward expansion.
Transportation Nation: Va. Gov’s Plan to End Gas Tax Goes Before Committee
(Washington, DC – WAMU) A legislative committee in the Virginia House of Delegates will take up Governor Bob McDonnell’s $3 billion transportation funding plan Wednesday. The governor expects his bill will go before the full House and Senate next week.
The Bay Citizen: Mayor says fixing Muni will be a priority
http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/mayor-lee-says-fixing-muni-will-be/
In his state of the city address Monday, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said fixing Muni is now on his to-do list, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Washington Post: 2,000 Green Line riders stranded on trains for hours after equipment along track catches fire
A problem with a smoking piece of equipment along a track of Metro’s Green Line led to a chaotic and dangerous scene Wednesday evening as dozens of riders took it upon themselves to evacuate a train and then tried to find transportation as they filled the streets around the Anacostia and Navy Yard stops.
Greater Greater Washington: The American Dream can be an urban dream, too
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/17518/the-american-dream-can-be-an-urban-dream-too/
The classic image of the "American Dream" is, for many, a house with a big yard, 2 cars, and so on. Is that image still relevant, even as many people choose to live in walkable urban neighborhoods? Sarah Lewis argues that it's the ideals, not the trappings, that matter and remain strong.
Fox Detroit: Mich. road bills would raise gas tax, vehicle fee
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/20877566/mich-road-bills-would-raise-gas-tax-vehicle-fee
Republicans on Wednesday proposed a two-pronged approach to raising an extra $1.6 billion a year to patch up Michigan's ailing roads, with voters possibly getting to pick an alternative if they oppose the mix of higher gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees under consideration.
Post-Gazette: Corbett wants $1.9 billion from gas tax to fund Pa. transit
Gov. Tom Corbett will seek $1.9 billion in new funding for roads, bridges, mass transit and other transportation modes when he unveils his plan next week, according to a Senate leader who was briefed on the proposal.
Wyoming Star Tribune: Senate committee endorses Wyoming fuel tax hike
CHEYENNE — A proposal to raise the state fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon moved closer to reality Wednesday when a Senate committee voted 4-1 in favor the legislation.
Providence Journal: André Leroux/Greg Bialecki: New era of Mass. smart growth
The Providence Journal's Jan. 23 editorial titled "Get smart in Mass" implies that Massachusetts has gone backwards in recent years on smart growth. The truth is that we are moving aggressively to ensure that our cities and towns are prepared to succeed in the future.
DC Streetsblog: The Revolving Door: Oklahoma’s Gary Ridley – Asphalt Lobbyist, DOT Chief
This is the second installment in our three-part “Revolving Door” series about how cronyism in state DOTs leads to wasteful highway building. The first part profiled Ohio DOT chief Jerry Wray, who has switched back and forth between working directly for the asphalt industry and shoveling money to the asphalt industry as a public official.
Politico: Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider and Burgess Everett Featuring Kathryn A. Wolfe
1/31/13
RAMPING UP ACTION: The first transportation hearing of this Congress kicks off today, as Sens. Barbara Boxer and David Vitter convene the EPW Committee for a powwow on the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Boxer told MT that she and her ranking member want to get the money in the trust fund — from the harbor maintenance tax’s value-based fee on imported goods — off the sidelines. “It’s not fair. It’s a trust fund, but the money just sits there and it’s building up.”
‘Like a fraud’: The RAMP Act has been reintroduced in the House (H.R. 335; text: http://1.usa.gov/118sMlj) and Boxer hopes to include it in WRDA legislation. That bill would tie yearly port spending to the receipts into the HMTF, though it doesn’t address the multibillion-dollar surplus that’s accumulated over the years. Appropriators have typically given port projects less money than is raised through import fees on shippers, leading to the surplus. Boxer said spending of that money would have to be “offset and that’s always problematic.” Instead she wants look at using it “going forward,” something she and Vitter agree on. “It’s like a fraud to the people paying it that they don’t get to use it.”
BOXER PHONES VILLARAIGOSA — Tells him to go for DOT opening: The EPW chairwoman called up L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Tuesday to ask him to openly vie for the new vacancy at DOT. “I talked to him last night because I wanted to encourage him to pursue this. So I hope he is,” Boxer told MT. “People need to know you’re interested or you’re not going to be in the mix.” She said she does not ascribe to the typical playbook of staying quiet while speculation swirls, though Villaraigosa was not made available for an interview to MT (he’s in South Korea for the winter Special Olympics). But we had a long talk with him in November, when his name first began raising eyebrows, and discovered from biking to high-speed rail, the mayor and current Secretary Ray LaHood are on the same page. But the big thing for Boxer is that AV, as he is known by his aides, knows all about the national transportation funding crisis.
HTF front and center: “We’ve got to fund it. It’s currently underfunded. That’s why we did a two-year surface transportation bill instead of a five-year surface transportation bill,” Villaraigosa said. “Let’s put everything on the table. Let’s not be afraid to fully fund highways, public transportation, operations.” That’s music to Boxer’s ears. “The Highway Trust Fund is running dry, so you need someone in that position who has ideas and who can go around the country and sell those ideas and can work with members of Congress on both sides,” Boxer said. Villaraigosa is “very good at that,” she added. Burgess has more for Pros: http://politico.pro/14sju1x
ROCKEFELLER PREFERS HERSMAN: NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman’s work on the Dreamliner problems is brightening her national spotlight — right as the White House is looking for a new Transportation secretary and vowing Cabinet diversity (http://politi.co/11j45go). Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller is giving her a full-throated endorsement. Hersman, a former Commerce aide, “has the experience and gravitas to be a terrific secretary of Transportation,” Rockefeller said. He called her a “constant reassuring presence” at NTSB and said he has “known her for many years and in every job she has impressed with her deep knowledge of our transportation systems.” Kathryn has more for Pros: http://politico.pro/VxbbBg
THE LEAST TRUSTED NAME IN HSR NEWS: CNN calls itself "the most trusted name in news.” But high-speed rail advocates beg to differ. Rail supporters are lashing out at a recent report (http://bit.ly/YjfMnr) on “Anderson Cooper 360” that questioned federal spending on high-speed rail, most of which came as an $8 billion allotment in the 2009 stimulus package. “It is now three years later and we can’t find any high-speed rail that’s actually been built,” Cooper said in his introduction of a “Keeping Them Honest” segment by correspondent Drew Griffin that focused on a route in Vermont. “Is it really quote unquote high-speed rail? It’s not, but we have significantly improved mileage,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told MT. Adam’s Pro story has much more on the backlash, context on the HSR program and CNN’s side of the story: http://politico.pro/14smkUh
FUN WITH EXIT INTERVIEWS — So long T&I hearings: As much as we’d like to think Secretary LaHood only wanted to talk to MT on Tuesday, he made himself available to several other media outlets to talk about his decision to leave his post at DOT. LaHood told Chicago Magazine that he still is a Republican and ruled out — again — any interest in future office, except for the aspirations of his son, state Sen. Darin LaHood. He also is not missing the Hill: “I miss nothing about Congress. I don’t miss Congress for one minute. I miss some of the people there, but that’s it,” he said. http://chi.mg/YEGQ4x
Hello HSR: Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein got some good nuggets out of the secretary, who told him that everyone will be driving hybrids or plug-ins by 2025 due to fuel standards. But he also took the gloves off with Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who rejected the Obama administration’s high-speed rail money. “My thought was there is only one person in Florida who doesn't want this money. … He is a governor without a vision when it comes to transportation." http://huff.to/127UYEc
W.H.: INFRASTRUCTURE=GROWTH: White House press secretary Jay Carney responded to a question on the administration shifting from deficit reduction to growth strategies: “Every proposal the president has put forward in these series of negotiations and debates with Republicans about deficit reduction have — every proposal has included significant investments in our economy — in infrastructure, in education, in putting teachers and police officers back on the street. … Investing in infrastructure, for example, doesn’t just create jobs in the near term; it helps build a foundation for sustained economic growth in the decades to come.”
TIFIA APPS TOP $40B: One more big project was added to the list of TIFIA applicants (totaling more than $41 billion now) this month: a request by the Florida DOT for a direct loan for the “I-4 Ultimate Improvements” project. MT stumbled across a PowerPoint describing those improvements, which include managed toll lanes on the Central Florida road, new bridges, new interchanges and SunRail running alongside. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/14sdUfB
ONE COMMITTEE DOWN, ONE TO GO: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan cleared the state’s House Finance Committee on a 14-8 vote — including four Democrats voting in favor. The measure now heads to the full House of Delegates and is also up for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee today. The proposal would replace the state’s 17.5 cent gasoline tax with a 0.8 percent sales tax increase and several other fees that would be dedicated to transportation projects.
Across the Potomac: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley gave his State of the State address and admitted the Old Line State has yet to settle on a new transportation vision. “We have the worst traffic congestion in the country. … We could be creating thousands of jobs and alleviating traffic congestion at the same time. We can either figure this out together, or every citizen in our state will continue to waste more time and more money sitting in more traffic.”
MT HEADS UP — Chemistry Council report: The American Chemistry Council puts out a new report today highlighting how chemical and plastic shippers are paying higher rates thanks to the rules governing freight railroads. ACC is arguing for Surface Transportation Board action that would improve competition and lessen the burden on “captive shippers” — companies that only have one option when moving goods by rail. The report goes live later today.
DAILY DREAMLINER UPDATE: Boeing’s CEO, in a talk about the company’s finances, gave a few thoughts on the troubled Dreamliner line of planes that remain grounded as the NTSB continues its investigation. The company plans to stick to its production schedule doesn’t think any changes are needed in the battery design, the AP reports (http://politico.pro/XKsfxU). W. James McNerney Jr. also said he’s confident investigators will find the cause of the problems and doesn’t regret the decision to use lithium ion batteries, The New York Times said (http://nyti.ms/XKsokR).
MAILBAG — NTSB recommendations: NTSB’s Hersman has sent a letter to FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro with safety recommendations stemming from a 2011 crash between a tractor-trailer truck and a train. Read the letter: http://1.usa.gov/XSNuOs
CABOOSE — LaHood and bikes, Part 2: Just a day after we reminded you all of Ray LaHood’s impromptu “tabletop” speech at the Bike Summit a few years ago, the League of American Bicyclists announced at he’ll be at the summit again this year — making him five for five in attending the bike-friendly gathering. Check out LAB’s blog post on him (http://bit.ly/WBGUMp) or, if you’re so inclined, a picture of a less-formal LaHood (shorts instead of a suit) pedaling on a two-wheeler outside the DOT headquarters (http://wny.cc/14wefPh).
Politico Pro: LA’s Villaraigosa staying hush on DOT buzz
By Burgess Everett
1/30/13
Antonio Villaraigosa will run up against term limits as mayor of America’s second-largest city in five months. But might he end up leaving sooner for the Department of Transportation?
That’s the buzz on Capitol Hill, where the Los Angeles mayor and National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Debbie Hersman are the apparent front-runners to replace DOT chief Ray LaHood, who said Tuesday he will step down once his successor is confirmed by the Senate.
POLITICO sat down with Villaraigosa in November for a long interview on policy and his future, and though he acknowledged the Cabinet buzz even then, he said the White House had not contacted him about an administration job. Villaraigosa met with LaHood two weeks ago, but the mayor said it was to discuss Los Angeles matters, not a Cabinet position.
This week, former and current Villaraigosa aides declined to comment on whether he is interested in the DOT job. Villaraigosa was also unavailable for an interview.
A spokeswoman did provide a handy list of transportation initiatives he has advanced in Los Angeles — achievements that are now something of legend among progressives for expanding car-free options in the nation’s car capital.
Despite the mum mayor, the talk in Los Angeles and in Washington continues to home in on Villaraigosa and the DOT job, particularly with anticipation that President Barack Obama will increase his administration's diversity while he fills out his Cabinet. The White House has stayed quiet on the DOT opening, but Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is only too happy to champion her fellow Californian.
“The president has stated he’s going to have a diverse Cabinet and Antonio is just a great choice,” Boxer said in an interview Wednesday. “He’s certainly someone who I think is really qualified.”
Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has more history with Hersman, a former staffer for the panel, so Boxer might be just the booster Villaraigosa needs. Boxer chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee and is the second-most-senior member of Commerce, the panel responsible for confirming Transportation nominees.
She spoke with Villaraigosa on the phone Tuesday night and encouraged him to publicly vie for the job.
“I talked to him last night because I wanted to encourage him to pursue this. So I hope he is,” Boxer said, abandoning the typical Washington playbook of staying quiet amid Cabinet speculation. “People need to know you’re interested or you’re not going to be in the mix.”
Villaraigosa came to D.C. frequently during Boxer’s furious charge last summer to pass the first new transportation bill in seven years. Villaraigosa was a key driver behind the bill’s expansion of TIFIA, a credit and loan assistance program designed to aid significant, revenue-producing transportation projects. TIFIA’s authority expanded six-fold as part of the bill, to $750 million this year and $1 billion in 2014, and has attracted applications for $41 billion in projects.
Villaraigosa’s TIFIA leadership showed he can think outside the box in an era of otherwise flat transportation spending and polished his credentials as someone who can work with Republicans, both important qualities for the next secretary. Villaraigosa marketed the TIFIA expansion as “America Fast Forward” — something good not just for LA, but for the country.
He said his confidence never wavered that then-House Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) would be a big booster for TIFIA expansion when the House flipped to Republican control in 2011.
“When we lost the Democratic majority, they said: ‘America Fast Forward’s dead.’ I said, ‘No it’s not, it’s a Republican idea,’” Villaraigosa said in November. “Sure enough, John Mica, [Oklahoma Sen. Jim] Inhofe, both of them solidly for it. We talked to [Speaker John] Boehner. All those guys got it.”
Villaraigosa would also offer continuity with the leadership of LaHood, a strong champion for biking and walking as viable forms of transportation. In addition to his transit commitment, Villaraigosa is a cyclist with the crash scars to show for it. The two are also in lockstep on high-speed rail, and Villaraigosa called debate over its future “nutball” considering the global adoption of fast trains.
But the next secretary’s biggest task will be to work with Congress on increasing annual revenue for federal infrastructure investment, a funding puzzle that LaHood and the Obama administration left unsolved in the first term after opposing a gas tax increase and declining to endorse a distance-based fee. Villaraigosa has embraced the “everything on the table” attitude from both Boxer and new House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).
“We’ve got to fund it. It’s currently underfunded. That’s why we did a two-year surface transportation bill instead of a five-year surface transportation bill,” he said. “Let’s put everything on the table. Let’s not be afraid to fully fund highways, public transportation, operations.”
Villaraigosa’s knowledge of transportation’s funding crisis is music to Boxer’s ears.
“The Highway Trust Fund is running dry, so you need someone in that position who has ideas and who can go around the country and sell those ideas and can work with members of Congress on both sides,” she said. Villaraigosa is “very good at that,” she added.
Villaraigosa does not come without baggage. California media have dogged him for dating reporters, and he has stayed tight-lipped regarding a recent Twitter photo taken with Charlie Sheen. The actor said he learned at a party in Mexico that Villaraigosa “can drink with the best of ’em” but later apologized if his comments had been “misconstrued.” Several high-level California sources told POLITICO the incident may have caused Villaraigosa’s stock with the Obama administration to dip slightly.
In November, Villaraigosa talked at length about his commitment to the Democratic Party, from chairing the Democratic National Convention to stumping for fellow Democrats. With former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) expected to take over as the administration’s token Republican, Obama probably won’t feel as much pressure to nominate someone from the GOP for the slot as he did with LaHood, who gave the administration a bipartisan flair. That means a national Democratic figure like Villaraigosa could still be in play.
“All of these people have been very supportive of the vast majority of my initiatives. You know, [Sen. Dianne] Feinstein and Boxer, ” Villaraigosa said during the interview. House Minority Leader Nancy “Pelosi and I have a great relationship. I traveled the country for Pelosi, for [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid, for Obama. There’s almost nothing they asked me to do that I don’t do.”
Now, the question is: Will Washington Democrats ask him to do one more thing and take over DOT?
Politico Pro: 787 probe raises Hersman’s profile amid Cabinet talk
By Kathryn A. Wolfe
1/31/13
The spotlight is shining white hot on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, putting top investigator Debbie Hersman in a role that could catapult her to a job running the entire Transportation Department.
Now the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, Hersman has for months been rumored as a possible replacement for outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. But the investigation her agency is conducting into the 787’s battery problems adds an extra level of public exposure just as the race to replace LaHood is heating up.
It’s a high-wire act that could help cement her candidacy, or derail it.
So far the White House is keeping a lock on who might be on a short list for DOT. But LaHood’s official resignation earlier this week means something in the administration's calculus has shifted. And speculation about his replacement, which had been percolating for some time, will now start to boil.
Picking Hersman would help quell the din over why President Barack Obama has yet to select a new female Cabinet secretary for his second term. But beyond ticking off that box, Hersman would bring a lot of substance to the table. Friends and former colleagues from both parties portray her as smart, collegial, steady and versed in the arcana of transportation policy.
She also has the significant advantage of already having sailed through the Senate confirmation process, albeit for a lower-profile job. And she knows Capitol Hill and how to work it from years of being a transportation staffer.
Former Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), who was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee when Hersman was a committee aide, said she would make an excellent Transportation secretary.
“She’s outstanding, she got along with everybody, she knows how to handle the public, she knows her subject,” Hollings told POLITICO in a telephone interview from his office in South Carolina. “That woman is smart and thorough and thoughtful. She’s professional as she could be. I’d trust her with any kind of role like that.”
Current Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) also gave her a ringing endorsement.
Rockefeller, who has worked with Hersman for years as both a Commerce aide and at NTSB, said she has the “experience and gravitas to be a terrific” secretary. He called her a “constant reassuring presence” at NTSB and said that “in every job she has impressed with her deep knowledge.”
Rockefeller said she understands safety and “would be an effective and persuasive advocate for investing” in infrastructure.
As a staffer, Hersman was involved with big bills involving motor carrier safety and pipelines. She also had a hand in a hefty Amtrak reauthorization bill, which was a major effort to set policy for the nation’s passenger rail. She also played a role in the seminal transportation TEA-21 reauthorization, which means she would be well positioned to take on the next transportation bill.
So far, Hersman has followed the script for someone who’s interested, performing the dance where you talk about how much you enjoy your current job but don’t outright dismiss the possibility.
In an earlier interview, when asked about her name being floated as a candidate, she said she’s “really focused on my job here as chairman … and that is what I want to pay attention to right now.” She did not answer an emailed request for comment.
Other names are floating around the rumor mill, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who would add a top-flight Hispanic politician to Obama’s Cabinet. It’s also possible that the intense nature of the Dreamliner investigation might make Obama think twice about pulling Hersman off the job.
One potential knock against her is that she does not have the sort of day-to-day political chops as a career politician like LaHood.
A former Senate aide who worked directly with her for years said she may not be an elected official, but she knows Washington and transportation in a way that would make her successful without much of a learning curve.
“Being a senior staffer has put her squarely in exactly that [same] role — trying to build coalitions, manage constituencies, find solutions and advance the ball in terms of good policy, and also meet the political needs of everyone involved,” he said. “That’s the name of the game in the Senate.”
The former aide noted that Hersman may have an advantage over a politician. “She doesn’t bring a regional agenda like a governor might, to compete with the administration’s agenda, or make other folks nervous” about regional favoritism in DOT programs.
She also gets a thumbs-up from many of the industries the DOT regulates, including from one long-time aviation lobbyist, who called her disarming but driven.
“I’ve been thoroughly impressed with her,” the lobbyist said. “She’s substantive, she’s engaging, she works hard, and I think she’s politically astute enough to step into a DOT role and avoid some of the pitfalls that even LaHood fell into along the way.”
He also said she’s kept her door open to industry concerns and gone out of her way when it comes to outreach. “Most people you talk to in the industry are going to have a pretty favorable opinion of her,” he said.
That was echoed by a former Republican aide, now a transportation lobbyist. He said that when Hersman was nominated for the NTSB job, she came to talk to him at the large manufacturer he worked for at the time.
“She definitely knows how the whole process works, in terms of stakeholders,” he said. “She’s very aggressive and she is very thorough and does her homework, and I’m impressed with her actually.”
Hersman started her career in the office of former Rep. Bob Wise (D-W.Va.), then stepped up to a spot on Commerce, where she was a senior aide. Much of her Commerce focus was on rail issues, but her portfolio was eventually expanded to encompass truck, bus, air and pipeline safety as well as some aspects of transportation security.
She was first nominated in 2004 by George W. Bush to be a member of the NTSB, then nominated again under Obama. She’s twice been selected chairman, first in 2009 and then in 2011.
Though the Dreamliner investigation may be Hersman’s most high-profile probe, she’s been involved with or spearheaded other big-ticket reviews, too.
Those include an investigation into the deadly 2009 crash of a Colgan Air regional jet, the nation’s most recent fatal airliner crash. The investigation and subsequent congressional attention to its findings resulted in some of the most sweeping changes to aviation safety regulations in decades, including new standards for pilot fatigue and a pending rule on pilot training standards.
Hersman also helmed an investigation into the collision of two Metro trains in Washington. Though it was a local problem, the crash received attention from lawmakers who spend much of their time inside the Beltway, and ended up spurring a call from the administration for stricter transit safety standards nationwide.
She also headed a study of the rapid spread of low-cost bus companies that pick passengers up curbside rather than at a bus terminal, and was responsible for the investigation into a plane crash that killed Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.
She also has a commercial driver’s license and is licensed to drive motorcycles. That would make her the second female DOT secretary with a penchant for motorcycles, alongside George W. Bush’s DOT pick Mary Peters.
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.
Politico Pro: Advocates: CNN off-track on high-speed rail
By Adam Snider
1/30/13
CNN calls itself "the most trusted name in news.” But high-speed rail advocates beg to differ.
Rail supporters are lashing out at a recent report on “Anderson Cooper 360” that questioned federal spending on high-speed rail, most of which came as an $8 billion allotment in the 2009 stimulus package.
“It is now three years later and we can’t find any high-speed rail that’s actually been built,” Cooper said in his introduction of a “Keeping Them Honest” segment by correspondent Drew Griffin that focused on a route in Vermont.
“Is it really quote unquote high-speed rail? It’s not, but we have significantly improved mileage,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) told POLITICO. “We put $50 million into those improvements and the rail is now significantly improved. Our trains go faster. The trip time has been significantly reduced and we’re proud of it.”
Advocates say the CNN story misses the whole point of the high-speed and intercity passenger rail program.
A key cog in creating a national rail network is to improve service around the country, including on slower lines that feed into major high-speed hubs. While Cooper is right to note the U.S. doesn’t yet have a high-speed-rail line, California is set to break ground later this year on a project that aims to create the nation’s first true high-speed rail route.
In short: The stimulus money was for high-speed and intercity passenger service, not just high-speed rail. “Unfortunately, some reporters choose to define all projects funded under the program as high-speed only, despite the clear distinctions,” Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm said.
Both high-speed rail and smaller improvements on existing lines have their benefits, supporters say. “We need true high-speed rail in this country, but we also need to improve lines just like this so more people ride the trains,” Building America’s Future Educational Fund President Marcia Hale said of the Amtrak Vermont route that was featured in the CNN story.
CNN stands by the report and says the goal was to highlight the differences between what was promised and what was delivered. The segment includes video of President Barack Obama at a 2009 news conference talking about being whisked from city to city in a high-speed train.
“The goal of these reports is to keep the government honest about promises made regarding the distribution of taxpayer dollars and how that money has actually been spent,” CNN spokeswoman Shimrit Sheetrit said.
But some rail supporters were unsparing in their critique of the CNN piece.
“This show is a disgrace to CNN, and Anderson Cooper's reputation,” U.S. High-Speed Rail Association President Andy Kunz said. “We are used to this type of garbage from the anti-rail think tanks but are shocked that CNN would stoop this low in their so-called reporting. This is not news, or even journalism, this is a smear campaign.”
“The federal High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program aims to make train travel more reliable and attractive for many Americans,” said Ross Capon, president and CEO of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. “When the program was launched, President Obama himself made clear that much of the money would upgrade ‘existing infrastructure.’”
But the Cato Institute’s Randal O’Toole, a longtime critic of high-speed rail who was featured in the CNN piece, said he thought the story presented a fair look at the issues.
“We could spend tens of billions of dollars on similar projects throughout the country and achieve trivial incremental speed gains that would attract few riders,” he wrote to POLITICO in an email. “At the same time, it is impressive to see private companies like Megabus and Bolt Bus take on Amtrak in corridor after corridor, offering faster, more frequent service at lower fares with almost no subsidies relative to what Amtrak gets. With the growth of the intercity bus industry, just why do we need so-called high-speed rail?”
The backlash against CNN’s take harkens back to a 2009 debate as the Federal Railroad Administration was deciding how to divvy up the $8 billion — should the money be spread thin, with smaller amounts for a number of projects around the country, or should it all go into one “demonstration project” that could show Americans the benefits of a true high-speed rail line?
The administration opted to spread the money around, which made a number of lawmakers happy that their state got a cut of the funds but also stoked Republican allegations that the money was a waste.
A DOT official said a national rail network includes three “levels” of service: True high-speed rail, like the California project; major existing corridors, like the Chicago-to-St. Louis route; and emerging corridors, like the Downeaster extension in Maine, that feed into the busier, more crowded parts of the country.
“Some of these investments, like those in California, will produce trains traveling over 200 mph, while others will improve trip times and reliability on critical routes like Chicago to St. Louis,” DOT spokesman Justin Nisly said. “But all of these investments are creating jobs here in America, and bringing us closer to the rail network we need to compete in the global marketplace.”
The CNN story inadvertently took a shot at outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: A graphic in the corner of the screen read “keeping them honest: high-speed boondoggle?” One of LaHood’s favorite lines used to defend the stimulus is to say that the money was doled out with “no boondoggles, no sweetheart deals.”
Politico Pro: Dreamliner woes hearten green-energy foes
By Darius Dixon
1/30/13
Critics of green energy are taking glee in the battery woes of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.
Some have even tried to tie the Dreamliner’s problems to President Barack Obama’s clean tech initiatives, although those programs had nothing to do with Boeing’s decision to go with the flagship jet’s novel, fuel-saving design.
The grounding of the entire fleet of Dreamliners earlier this month was “another black eye” to Obama’s energy programs, wrote Richard Pollock, a reporter for the Washington Examiner’s Watchdog Team, in an article last week.
Paul Chesser, an associate fellow at the conservative National Legal and Policy Center, also blamed the incidents on the federal government for encouraging lithium-ion batteries as a way to increase energy efficiency.
“The ‘green’ Dreamliner was supposed to be about big savings via fuel efficiency, new technologies and construction materials, all which were supposed to be made to magically appear thanks to billions of dollars in government incentives, primarily to fight the cause of global warming,” he wrote earlier this week. Chesser, Pollock and others were also quick to connect Boeing’s problems with the future of electric cars.
Electric car advocates are trying to stay out of the fray.
Christine Rogala, spokeswoman for the Electric Drive Transportation Association, said the industry group was “following the recent news” but declined to say much else, other than noting that the batteries in electric cars differ substantially from those in the 787.
Sniping from critics aside, much of the general news coverage of the Dreamliner’s problems hasn’t been kind to electric vehicles.
“Boeing's battery woes could short-circuit e-cars,” an NBC News headline blared last week. A column by the editors of Real Clear Energy said clean energy suffered “a huge setback” because of the Dreamliner’s problems.
The Associated Press also quoted an emeritus professor of aeronautical engineering earlier this month who claimed that Boeing was “running into the same problems with the 787 as the problems that have shown up in electric cars.”
Boeing’s troubles have given critics of electric and hybrid cars an opportunity to revisit a 2011 fire that occurred in a Chevy Volt crash test, an incident that House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) attempted to seize on last year.
But the bad press has also drawn out the technology’s defenders.
“Gird yourself: It's possible we're about to see a new wave of attacks on electric cars that ignore battery science,” John Voelcker of Green Car Report wrote soon after the Dreamliner problems began to emerge.
“Here's the problem: While the battery cells in Boeing 787s and, say, Chevrolet Volts are both in the lithium-ion family, they use very different chemistries,” he added in the middle of a lengthy rebuttal of the aeronautical engineering professor quoted by the AP.
Voelcker points out that the Tesla Roadster is the only electric car on the market that uses the same lithium-ion battery chemistry as those onboard the Dreamliner. But separately, Tesla owner Elon Musk argued Tuesday that the architecture of the Dreamliner’s batteries made the design “inherently unsafe,” unlike the ones used in his cars.
Boeing didn't design the Dreamliner in response to an Obama administration mandate but instead with a more capitalistic aim in mind: conserving fuel in an effort to save money for the company’s airline customers, giving the aerospace company a competitive edge in a world of increasing fuel costs.
Hence the plane’s unprecedented use of composite materials for the fuselage and extensive use of lithium-ion batteries, which have a large charge-to-weight ratio. The need for a powerful, fast-charging battery that’s also light is important because of the Dreamliner's reliance on electronics to perform functions that typical airliners handle through mechanical or hydraulic means.
Boeing applied for certification of the Dreamliner in 2003, well before Obama’s presidency.
Meanwhile, it may turn out that the batteries aren’t even the source of the fire and overheating problems plaguing the Dreamliner. Japanese transportation officials said this week that inspectors there have found no flaws in a Dreamliner battery that overheated earlier this month.
Kathryn A. Wolfe contributed to this report.