NATIONAL NEWS
Bloomberg View: Congress, We Know What You Did This Summer: Nothing
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-03/congress-we-know-what-you-did-this-summer-nothing
Happy summer vacation, Congress. Clearly, you need a break.
Automotive News: Execs who delay safety recalls would face life in prison under Senate bill
Auto executives who delay safety recalls that result in deaths could face up to life in prison under a new bill backed by a U.S. senator who has been one of the staunchest critics of General Motors’ handling of its ignition switch recalls.
Hunterdon County Democrat: Editorial: Federal gas tax revenues can't keep up with spending
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2014/08/editorial_highway_trust_fund_r.html
Based on current spending and revenue trends, the federal Highway Trust Fund is near insolvency. Again.
Climate Central: Warming Threatens Roads, Ports and Planes, Report Says
The transportation sector is a major contributor to climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions, and, worldwide, it’s also one of the most vulnerable sectors to the effects of climate change, according to a new report.
City Lab: It's Amazing How Many More Commuters Would Drive Less if They Didn't Get Free Parking
If you're an employer in a major metro area, it's in your best interest to offer a commuter benefits plan for every worker, regardless of their preferred travel mode. That typically means free parking for drivers, subway or bus pass programs for transit riders, and secure bike storage as well as maybe showers for cyclists. This seems only fair, like a bit of a win for everyone involved.
STATE NEWS
The Boston Globe: MBTA rewrote book on Boston area commute
Things that happened in August 50 years ago: The launch of the Beatles’ first American multicity tour. Congress’s passage of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.
The Santa Clarita Valley Signal: Court gives new life to California high-speed rail
http://www.signalscv.com/section/36/article/125154/
A state appellate court ruling has given new momentum to Gov. Jerry Brown’s $68 billion high-speed rail project by providing the state with a substantial funding source and lifting one cloud over a plan that has been widely criticized for its cost, route, construction plans and environmental reviews.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In the middle of political firestorm, Trek Bicycle rolls on
On Oct. 7, the day his sister entered the governor's race, John Burke sent an email to Trek Bicycle Corp. employees telling them that it was "a personal decision by Mary and has no effect on the day-to-day operations at Trek."
The Chattanoogan: TDOT Has Some Major Projects On Hold - Including East Brainerd Road - Due To Uncertain Federal Highway Funding
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/8/2/281571/TDOT-Has-Projects-On-Some-Major.aspx
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has placed some major projects on hold - including the $14 million widening of East Brainerd Road - due to uncertainty over federal highway funding.
Deseret News: 'Roadkill app' paints clearer picture of wildlife-vehicle collisions
The Utah Department of Transportation and Division of Wildlife Resources are getting a better grasp on the details of wildlife-vehicle collisions across the state thanks to a mobile application developed by Utah State University researchers.
POLITICO MORNING TRANSPORTATION
By ADAM SNIDER
8/4/14 5:42 AM EDT
With help from Kevin Robillard
HIGHWAY TRUST FUND CUTS AVERTED: A ten-month, nearly $11 billion Highway Trust Fund patch that cleared Congress last week after plenty of drama is awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature. The White House bill clerk received the legislation on Friday, and Obama should sign it this week. Congress barely beat the August 1 deadline for DOT having to implement its emergency cash management plan for the trust fund’s highway account. Reimbursements for road and bridge work are still flowing to states on time and in full, even though Obama hasn’t yet signed the bill, according to a DOT spokesperson. (Remember that Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx’s warning to states said the cash management procedures would go into effect August 1 unless Congress acted — which it did).
1, 2, 3 extensions…ah ah ah! The funding and policy extension — the first of MAP-21, which had been set to expire Sept. 30 and itself saw nine stopgaps of SAFETEA-LU before it was enacted — was called an insufficient, temporary, last-minute answer that doesn’t address the root problem by nearly everyone in the transportation field. Can’t keep track of all those extensions? FHWA has you covered: http://1.usa.gov/1kxbDfo
A picture is worth $11 billion: House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster and Ways and Means head Dave Camp were on hand Friday when House Speaker John Boehner inked the bill before sending it over to the White House. Picture proof via the speaker:http://1.usa.gov/1o4JQDK
D.C. STREETCAR INCHES CLOSER TO OPENING: DDOT will begin training drivers of the new H Street/Benning Road streetcar today. Officials hope to start revenue service by the end of the year after several construction delays over the past few years. The team of 37 workers assigned to the streetcar includes 28 operators — 89 percent of whom are D.C. residents. It’s been decades since walkers, drivers and bicyclists had to think about a streetcar in the District, so DDOT is warning everyone to “Look, Listen, Be Safe!” around the new mode.
McCASKILL DROPS NHTSA REAUTHORIZATION: The $35 million cap on civil penalties for automakers will be eliminated under a six-year NHTSA reauthorization bill Sen. Claire McCaskill announced Friday. The bill will also double NHTSA’s vehicle safety funding authorization to $268 million over the life of the measure, bar the rental of vehicles subject to a recall, make it easier for states to qualify for ignition interlock grant funding and ease requirements for federal prosecutors charging manufacturers with auto safety violations. McCaskill has already held two hearings focusing on the GM recall scandal and has announced her intention for a third hearing looking at NHTSA’s role in failing to uncover the deadly ignition lock defect. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton has said he expects to introduce auto safety legislation later this year or in early 2015. Read the bill (http://politico.pro/WV1miJ) or a summary (http://politico.pro/1s2z8iI).
GOOD MONDAY MORNING. FIVE GLORIOUS WEEKS OF RECESS AWAIT YOU. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports. The U.S. Coast Guard turns 224 years old today. It started on this day in 1790 as the Revenue Cutter Service, a customs enforcement wing of the Department of the Treasury. Don’t be shy — pass along your tips, news, complaints and more: asnider@politico.com. And please follow on Twitter: @AdamKSnider and@POLITICOPro.
“We're just moving around in your car, in your car…” http://bit.ly/1qHBPTy
MORE RECALLS: Hyundai is recalling nearly 420,000 vehicles for problems with the brake, electrical and suspension systems, the automaker said Friday. The largest batch of recalls — 225,000 model year 2001-06 Santa Fes — is due to front suspensions that could break after rusting, leading a punctured tire. The New York Times notes that the regional recall affects 20 states, all in colder climates that use road salt — which can accelerate undercarriage rusting — for added traction in bad winter weather. More in the NYT:http://nyti.ms/1skFpF1
A non-recall problem for GM: An explosion at a factory that supplies GM in Kunshan, in China’s Jiangsu province, killed at least 69 people and injured many more. Daily Mail:http://dailym.ai/WV36Zb
TO-DO LIST — Drones: The DOT has been plenty busy on the regulatory front lately — a major tank car rule was recently issued, but there are still plenty of other big-ticket issues that will see regulatory action in the coming months. The FAA is working on a drone rule as testing at several sanctioned sites continues; Sen. Chuck Schumer has urged officials to waste no time on that closely-watched rule (CBS New York: http://cbsloc.al/1xVABWg).
Cell phones on planes: The Wall Street Journal notes that a rule barring cell phone calls on planes is coming up before the end of the year: “Kathryn Thomson, the Transportation Department’s general counsel, told executives at an industry event last week that the agency plans to pursue the next step in what could lead to a formal ban on in-flight calls, according to people present. A department spokeswoman confirmed that it is developing what is called a notice of proposed rulemaking for publication in December that would lay out its objections to passengers making and receiving calls, opening the way for comments until February.” Full story in WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/UL1LTd
CALIFORNIA HSR RULING NOT DETERRING OPPOSITION: An appeals court’s verdict last week that overturned lower court decisions blocking bond sales and forcing a rewrite of the financial plan for the Gold State’s fast train line hasn’t stopped the project’s opposition. Rep. Jeff Denham, chairman of the House T&I’s railroads panel who just so happens to be from California, pointed out in a statement that the project is still well short on funds, saying that the court ruling “does nothing to change the $55 billion funding gap the California High Speed Rail Authority faces, nor does it eliminate the glaring differences that remain between what voters approved in Prop 1A and the Authority’s current plan.” Another project opponent — California Rep. Kevin McCarthy — also officially ascended from majority whip to majority leader last week.
RENAMED: The Highway Trust Fund patch wasn’t the only thing making its way through Congress in the last crazy week before recess — the Senate passed a House bill to rename 30th Street Station in Philadelphia as the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, after the former representative, House Budget Committee chairman and House majority whip. Gray died in July 2013. There’s also an effort underway to rename another major East Coast Amtrak station — Union Station in D.C. There are bills in the House and Senate now — though neither has even made it out of committee yet — to rename it as Harry S. Truman Union Station.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- California man calculates that, at 6,000 miles per year, taking UberX is cheaper than driving his Tesla Roadster. Green Car Reports: http://bit.ly/1tK3oiU
- “Wait for Congress to act? Good luck. Auto industry can take the initiative on 3 big issues.” Automotive News: http://bit.ly/1okH8Ek
- House T&I ranking member Nick Rahall rejects offer from his GOP opponent to ban outside spending in the race. The Charleston Gazette: http://bit.ly/Xw41iE
- Missed during the highway craziness but worth noting — an extensive Governing analysis finds pedestrian deaths are the highest in the country’s poorest neighborhoods. See the study results (http://bit.ly/1zLYsul) and a story about it (http://bit.ly/1xV2vSm).
- A timeline of FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro’s tenure, from Transport Topics — a trade pub for the American Trucking Associations, which had plenty of criticisms of the agency’s action: http://bit.ly/Xwo4xz
- Investigators are looking at whether a New York state board controlled by appointees of Gov. Andrew Cuomo rushed approval of a disputed Tappan Zee Bridge loan. Capital:http://bit.ly/1sjf5Kv
THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 58 days and highway and transit policy expires in 301 days under the new extension. FAA policy is up in 423 days. The mid-term elections are in 92 days and the 2016 presidential election is in 827 days.
THE DAY AHEAD: 11:45 a.m. — POLITICO’s Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen takes Playbook live for a lunch conversation with Contributor and Strategic Adviser for Bloomberg and Former White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe about policy, politics and the inaugural U.S.-Africa Business Forum. Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street NW.
NATIONAL NEWS
Bloomberg View: Congress, We Know What You Did This Summer: Nothing
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-03/congress-we-know-what-you-did-this-summer-nothing
Happy summer vacation, Congress. Clearly, you need a break.