Subject: POLITICO's Morning Transportation, presented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International: THUD bill gets the combo treatment — Delta CEO defends NextGen — Foxx’s WMATA picks get support from Congress
From: Morning Transportation <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2016 08:02:58 -0600

By Martine Powers | 04/29/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With help from Kathryn A. Wolfe, Heather Caygle, Lauren Gardner, Jennifer Scholtes and Eric Wolff

WANNA MAKE THAT A COMBO? Our Lauren Gardner checked in with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), THUD chairwoman, and got confirmation that THUD is still on the docket for just after the recess ... but it is expected to be served up as a combo package with the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill. "I am told we will go to my bill when we come back," Collins told Lauren. "The leader has told me to be prepared to go to THUD and that MilCon is going to be grafted onto the bill, or the two bills are going to be combined."

Even so, the legislative fracas of the past few days over the Energy and Water bill has lawmakers nervous about what's around the bend after the recess. As POLITICO'S Ben Weyl and Matthew Nussbaum note, "If that's what happens to the first spending bill brought to the floor, chosen precisely because it wouldn't be controversial and would set a template for other bills, then other appropriations measures are unlikely to get any farther."

IT'S FRIDAY: Good morning and thanks for tuning into POLITICO's Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports.

MT wants to give a shout-out to the guy on the Blue Line Thursday morning who solved a Rubik's Cube in under five minutes while (it seemed) everyone in the subway car watched, riveted. What a great way to start a morning! Share tales from your commute: [email-masked] or @martinepowers.

"You can't get to heaven on the Frankford El/'Cause the Frankford El goes straight to Frankford." (h/t Sandy Smith, Associate Editor at Philly Mag)

ANDERSON DEFENDS NEXTGEN: During a speech at DC's Aero Club - likely his last one before he retires Monday from his post as CEO of Delta Air Lines- Richard Anderson didn't pull any punches. The Texas native gave a full-throated endorsement of NextGen and said airlines need to get on board by equipping their planes. And while he didn't mention the elephant in the room - that Delta stands alone among airlines in opposing plans to separate air traffic control from the FAA - one of the reasons Delta's in opposition is because they think NextGen is poised to be a success.

If the industry cooperates, that is. "Certainly NextGen is not perfect, but when I look at delay causes at Delta Air Lines, it's not ATC. It's self-inflicted," Anderson said. He pointed to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data showing that delayed departures forced by air traffic control issue amount to about 7.6 percent - most of which is due to weather. And air traffic control-forced cancellations, Anderson said, are at an anemic .3 percent. "Far higher are carrier caused delays," he said.

FIRST-NAME BASIS: House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster announced he's endorsing Donald Trump for president. "Donald is a private sector business leader who knows what it takes to get things done - and that is something that Washington desperately needs," Shuster said in a statement. "Donald also shares my passion for economic development, including making sure our nation's infrastructure meets the needs of our citizens."

MAKING IT OFFICIAL: Following up on a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Reps. Peter DeFazio, Frank LoBiondo, Rick Larsen, and Lynn Westmoreland filed legislation Thursday (H.R. 5090) that could prevent Norwegian Air International from operating service between Europe and the United States. "Norwegian Airlines has sidestepped the bedrock labor agreements that are the foundation of the US-EU Air Transport Agreement. In so doing, they have compromised the competitiveness of American air carriers," LoBiondo wrote in a statement. "There has been long-standing opposition in Congress to permitting this to go forward. The U.S. Department of Transportation must reconsider its
 position."

FOR WMATA BOARD PICKS, FOXX STRIKES WHILE THE IRON'S HOT: A day after Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) announced plans to introduce legislation that would require the next three federal appointees to the WMATA board of directors to have significant transportation expertise ... Foxx announced that he had appointed three new members of the WMATA board of directors with significant transportation expertise. "Great minds!" Delaney told MT on Thursday afternoon, when asked about the announcement. "We're pleased, because they're basically doing something very consistent with what we started talking about in the last few weeks, so I think it's a positive step." D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton added her
 approval in a statement, also pointing out that "the federal government has equal representation with the three jurisdictions on the WMATA Board of Directors and has perhaps more at stake than any of the jurisdictions, but does not shoulder any of the financial burden for WMATA's daily operations."

Who's in: Carol J. Carmody, former NTSB member and vice chairman; David Strickland, former NHTSA administrator; and Robert Lauby, current associate administrator for railroad safety and chief safety officer at the Federal Railroad Administration. Lauby's appointment is particularly interesting, considering how much flak the DOT has received for choosing the Federal Transit Administration, and not the FRA, to temporarily manage safety oversight of Metro.

Who's out: Mort Downey, past chairman of the board and former U.S. transportation secretary; Harriet Tregoning, urban planning expert; and Anthony R. Giancola of the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps.

If you build it, they will come? Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans said earlier this month that he believed there was a shortage of skilled candidates vying to serve on the board - "Sometimes they're there because nobody else would come, believe it or not,&quot; Evans said at the House Oversight hearing - but Delaney insists that implementing new requirements will bring more qualified candidates out of the woodwork. "I think if you actually said, 'This board is going to have real expertise,' I think you'd get good people to serve - because they'd say, 'I'm going to serve with people who are really going to add value to managing Metro,'" Delaney said. As for the bill's chances, the legislator
 was confident: "I think there'll be a lot of support, 'cause it's kind of unassailable, right? ... How could you actually say that it's a bad idea to have qualified people on the board?"

BTW, he didn't forget: Foxx also used the announcement about the board picks as an opportunity to tweak WMATA for failing to set up a new safety oversight board. "I met with each of the jurisdictions a year ago and urged them to stand up a new safety oversight office. They have not done so," Foxx said. "No more excuses."

** A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, International: By proposing to grant Norwegian Air International (NAI) a foreign carrier permit, Transportation Secretary Foxx is failing to enforce our Open Skies agreement with the European Union, thereby harming tens of thousands of U.S. workers. Secretary Foxx should stand up for U.S. workers and immediately deny NAI's request. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f7c9ad48b746593b7fe35d9db6db1d9a326b3544dcd40715eb1b9f217adc60fa **

WRDA BY SUMMER: Supporters of the Water Resources Development Act hope both the Senate bill and the House companion can get through their respective chambers before they leave for the summer in July. As Pro's Annie Snider reports, the bill, sponsored by Environment and Public Works Chairman Jim Inhofe, advanced out of committee on a 19-1 vote on Thursday. The bill includes a $220 million aid package for Flint, Mich., as well as changes to the nation's clean water and drinking water programs.

REACH THE BREACH: The House Homeland Security Committee gave the thumbs-up on a bill that would force TSA to assess perimeter vulnerabilities at U.S. airports - a follow-up on reports from last year about hundreds of incidents in which fences, gates, and guardhouses were breached by unauthorized intruders. Our Jennifer Scholtes explains the bill: "The measure (H.R. 5056), approved unanimously, would require TSA to regularly update its risk assessment for airports, noting specific security events to analyze trends for airport access points and taking into consideration both the unique geography of airports and current standard practices for trying to prevent breaches."

MAKING AMENDS: Volkswagen announced on Thursday that the company plans to focus on efforts to build all-electric vehicles, with a promise to introduce 22 models of electric vehicles by 2020. The automaker's executives intend to "make electric cars one of Volkswagen's new hallmarks," VW CEO Matthias Mueller said at the company's annual conference in Germany, according to the Associated Press.

Mea culpa, Mr. President: Mueller also said he's had a "two-minute" in-person conversation with President Barack Obama to apologize for the diesel engine emissions cheating scandal. "I took the opportunity to apologize to him personally for this matter," Mueller told the audience at the conference, according to the AP. "I also expressed my thanks for the constructive cooperation with his authorities." 

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):

- "Volkswagen says may have to sell assets to pay for emissions scandal." Reuters.

- "It's easy to blame unions for all of Metro's problems. It's also wrong." The Washington Post.

- Automakers push back in spectrum fight with Wi-Fi boosters. POLITICO Pro.

- "Heathrow Airbus collision 'not a drone incident'; No evidence of UAV impact, investigators say." The Register.

- "TSA whistleblower reveals supervisors instructed him to profile Somali imams." Shadowproof.

- "NYC-Boston Shuttle Market Just Got a Little More Crowded." (Alas, that's for airplanes, not budget buses.) Bloomberg.

THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 156 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 78 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 194 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 1,618 days.

** A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, International: The Department of Transportation's (DOT) order proposing to approve Norwegian Air International's (NAI) request ignores both the terms of our the Open Skies agreement and the will of Congress. NAI's operation as a "flag-of-convenience" carrier in Ireland would allow the airline to skirt Norway's employment laws, give NAI an unfair economic edge, and put tens of thousands of U.S. aviation jobs at risk. 

DOT's decision is at odds with the letter, spirit, and intent of the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement and is opposed by U.S. and EU labor unions, airlines and others. More than 200 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have urged Secretary Foxx to enforce the U.S.-EU agreement and deny the NAI application.

The Obama Administration needs to stand up for fair competition and U.S. jobs and deny NAI a foreign carrier permit. Learn more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f7c9ad48b746593b7fe35d9db6db1d9a326b3544dcd40715eb1b9f217adc60fa **

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