Subject: POLITICO's Morning Transportation, presented by Norwegian Air: After FAST Act, what's next for Infrastructure Week? — Post-ICAO, U.S. aviation interests align on airplane emissions — Civil rights orgs ask DOT for anti-discrimination airline rules
From: Morning Transportation <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 16 May 2016 08:03:07 -0600

By Martine Powers | 05/16/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With help from Lauren Gardner, Heather Caygle, Jennifer Scholtes, Ryan Hutchins and Sara Stefanini

VICTORY LAP? NO WAY. It's Infrastructure Week, that time of year when infrastructure advocates hold events around the country to persuade/cajole/beg lawmakers for more funding. MT checked in with two major players in this week's festivities: Ed Mortimer, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's executive director of transportation infrastructure, and Ed Rendell, former governor of Pennsylvania. Both Eds agreed: Despite last year's passage of a long-term-ish surface transportation bill, the upcoming week is no time for celebration. They talked about their thoughts on the FAST Act, their hopes for this year's events ... and why the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump might be a good thing for
 infrastructure fans.

Post-FAST goals: Mortimer said that part of this year's mission is to make it clear how FAST Act funding is being implemented. "What does the FAST Act really mean? We want to make sure Congress understands that this bill does have an impact this year," he said.

Modest expectations: Rendell was pretty meh about the success of the FAST Act - "It's not even properly paid for ... It's mostly illusory," he said - and he knows that chances are nil that Congress will take another major crack at infrastructure funding this year. "We're not optimistic for a home run, which would be a massive 10-year infrastructure program with $200 billion in additional spending," Still, Rendell said, he believes there's growing recognition among lawmakers about the need for investment. "Even in Congress, they're starting to realize that something's got to be done," he added. "The more incidents you have, the more pipelines that blow up, the more bridges collapse - they're
 starting to have an impact."

Building bridges - literally: "The needs are still out there," Mortimer said, citing the nearly 60,000 bridges around the country that are considered structurally deficient. Without more funding, that number isn't going to diminish anytime soon, he added, "even with the FAST Act. We'd like to get to a point where that number is under under 5,000. We've gotta improve 'em."

#TeamTrump or #TeamHillary, infrastructure's sitting pretty: Despite the fact that he's a staunch Democrat, Rendell said he's feeling hopeful no matter which way the presidential election goes - at least when it comes to infrastructure. "The three presidential candidates - Bernie, Hillary, and Donald - they've all indicated that infrastructure is high on their radar screen, because of the need, and because it's a significant job producer. All three of them have said it's going to be a priority agenda item for them if they become president," Rendell said. "So we're probably a little more optimistic than we've been in a while."

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

Best wishes to MT author emeritus Adam Snider on his marriage to lovely Congress reporter and friend-of-Team-Transpo Emma Dumain; their wedding was featured in Sunday's POLITICO Playbook, complete with links to beautiful photos of the happy couple (http://bit.ly/254byq3, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=728a9cfae59af5f12f0769c1beec0979c3fb7011786c50a9c8be08d1b76a534a and their excellent cake topper (http://bit.ly/1Oum4yZ). Our own Heather Caygle was in attendance, as was another former MT scribe, groomsman Burgess Everett. Congratulations! Reach out: [email-masked] or @martinepowers.

"You should use your phone, call a Uber / You a goofy if you think I don't know you need a lyft / Is you is or is you ain't got gas money."

THIS WEEK: Besides Infrastructure Week (see above) we've got THUD appropriations on our radar, as well as Tuesday's NTSB meeting on last year's Amtrak derailment.

Tuesday: The National Transportation Safety Board holds a meeting to determine the probable cause of the Philadelphia Amtrak passenger train derailment. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers hosts a discussion on the future of infrastructure, with Reps. Garret Graves and Earl Blumenauer. House Homeland Security's Transportation Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Flying Blind: What are the security risks of resuming U.S. Commercial Air Service to Cuba." The Henry L. Stimson Center holds a discussion on "Drone Proliferation: Impacts on Security, Strategy and Policy."

Wednesday: House Appropriations' Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee holds a markup of the FY 2017 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations bill. APTA holds a media conference call on "Public Transportation at the Crossroads: Aging Infrastructure and Capacity Challenges." The Eno Center for Transportation releases the report: "Delivering the goods: Recommendation for funding a federal freight program."

Infrastructure Week features a Capitol Hill briefing and press conference with Gov. Ed Rendell, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Ben Cardin, along with other lawmakers and business leaders. The Office of the Secretary of Transportation holds the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Accessible Air Transportation, to focus on accommodations for air travelers with disabilities.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration holds a meeting on privacy, transparency, and accountability issues regarding commercial and private use of unmanned aircraft systems. The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association holds hands-on demonstrations of the latest advanced safety technologies at RFK Stadium. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration holds a workshop on liquefied natural gas regulations, focusing on the requirements for transporting LNG in commerce by rail, highway, and waterway.

Friday: The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation holds a discussion on "Building Out America's Digital Infrastructure for the 21st Century Economy."

** Presented by Norwegian Air: Affordable fares to Europe for every consumer - that's the vision of Norwegian. With an $18.5 billion order for new Boeing airplanes, not only does Norwegian support the American economy, it helps to create and support over 100,000 American jobs in the United States. Get the facts: openourskies.com **

NEXT STOP, POST-MONTREAL? Last week's ICAO meeting on aviation emissions wrapped up with a tentative agreement to further elaborate how EU legislation fits with the ICAO's market system, as Pro Europe's Sara Stefanini reports. European ministers remain concerned that the ICAO market measure will prohibit countries or regions from setting up their own systems for curbing aviation emissions - like the EU's Emissions Trading System, which already covers emissions from flights within the bloc.

Back at home, the U.S. government is mulling the question of how to ensure that enough emissions are covered to make the program environmentally effective, while balancing the needs of developing countries that haven't contributed to the bulk of airline-related climate-warming pollution. Our Lauren Gardner has the rundown: "The U.S. government and its domestic airline industry are largely in lockstep on how a global system should work. Both want to see flight paths between a nation that doesn't participate in the program due to its 'developing' status and one that does exempted from offsetting requirements to avoid market discrimination, an industry official closely following the talks told
 POLITICO."

'A hybrid approach': "U.S. interests also agree that the eventual offsetting system shouldn't be solely based on the sector's growth rate," Lauren writes. "Instead, they are urging ICAO to embrace a hybrid approach that shifts the offsetting burden onto individual airlines so they account for their own growth and corresponding emissions. That way, U.S. legacy airlines experiencing slower emissions growth than counterparts abroad wouldn't have to consistently bear a greater share of the offsetting burden."

SEEKING RECOURSE AFTER REPORTS OF DISCRIMINATION: After a slew of incidents involving airline passengers falsely accused of being terrorists, Muslim Advocates and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund are asking the Department of Transportation to step in and penalize airlines for acts of discrimination. In a letter to DOT sent last week, the two organizations asked DOT to: "fully investigate and publicly report ... all alleged instances of racial and religious profiling involving Muslim passengers," implement regulations on anti-discrimination and implicit bias training, and track and publish monthly summaries of discrimination complaints filed against US airlines and the action taken
 in response.

Make 'em pay? The two organizations are also asking DOT to require air carriers found to have profiled a passenger to "take appropriate remedial action, including but not limited to, appropriate financial compensation for the victims and the institution of training, protocols, and monitoring to ensure that such incidents do not occur again."

ALL EYES ON PRECHECK: As warnings about this summer's airport security lines grow more dire, administrators are turning to PreCheck as the last best hope for keeping disastrously long lines at bay. From Jennifer Scholtes' report: "Getting more people into those speedier queues ... is a main tenet of the Department of Homeland Security's plan to keep checkpoint waits under control ... 

"About 2.5 million people are enrolled in the program currently, and a total of more than 7 million are signed up for access to some kind of expedited screening process. ... I f the department can increase that 7 million figure to 25 million, Transportation Security Administrator Peter Neffenger told lawmakers this month, it would 'drastically change the way we can operate the system.' DHS is aiming to hit that goal by the end of 2019. To do so, enrollment needs to be above the daily pace of 10,000 signups for more than three and a half years."

#FunFact: "TSA signed up more than 10,000 flyers for the expedited screening program on Thursday alone, hitting a record number of enrollees in a single day."

Under pressure, indeed: Johnson commented on the tension between speed and safety at Friday's press conference at Reagan National Airport: "We're not going to compromise aviation security under pressure from anybody characterizing this as a national crisis," Homeland Security Secretary JehJohnson told reporters. "Our task is to keep passengers moving but also, and most importantly, keep passengers safe."

Can't get enough TSA news? Sen. Shuck Schumer, via AP: "Put More Dogs on the Airport Security Line." The Christian Science Monitor: Phoenix airport may be opting out of TSA. BuzzFeed News: "This Is A Horrifying Video Of What Might Be The Worst Airport Security Line Of All Time." 

NOT JUST BRICK-AND-MORTAR: A just-released report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation argues that more attention must be paid to integrating physical infrastructure with the digital world. What, exactly, does that mean? Think: oil well sensors, shipping container tracking devices, smart traffic signals, machine-to-machine communications on freight trains, and Internet-of-Things pipeline management systems. From the report: "Most existing infrastructure will need to be hybridized, by integrating digital features, while some new infrastructure will be purely digital. But make no mistake: The country's future growth prospects will hinge in no small part on whether it
 successfully transforms our infrastructure systems." Read the full version here: bit.ly/1R3cCx6.

BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH 3RD CLASS MEDICAL REFORM: General aviation advocates are drumming up excitement about news that third class medical reform is expected to go to the Senate for a vote later this month as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The measure would allow some pilots who fly recreationally to be exempt from the need to obtain costly medical certificates. "This is great news for general aviation," said Mark Baker, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. "Third class medical reform is vital to our community, and it has widespread bipartisan support.

BRIDGEGATE REVEAL DELAY: We'll have to wait a little longer for that roster of alleged unindicted Bridgegate co-conspirators. The U.S. Attorney's Office was expected to release the list last Friday, but they were blocked by a last-minute motion an unnamed individual; a judge denied the motion, and the list is now expected to be released on Tuesday.

From POLITICO New Jersey's Ryan Hutchins: "The intervenor in the case [is] a 'John Doe whose attorney says her client is on the list and would be denied due process if it were released ... The judge said she was 'puzzled by Doe's failure to intervene sooner in this matter,' and said the person 'had every opportunity to intervene' during the four months since a coalition of news organizations filed a motion seeking access to the list. POLITICO is among the news organizations seeking the document."

BACK HOME IN CACKALACKY: The Charlotte Observer is reporting on a civil dispute facing Transportation Secretary Foxx in his home state of North Carolina. From the Observer: "Foxx wants allegations that he once had a no-show job at a defunct bus maker stricken from a lawsuit in bankruptcy court. Last August, the trustee liquidating Charlotte-based bus company DesignLine filed suit against Foxx seeking the return of the pay he received as deputy general counsel from 2009 to 2013 ... 

" ... The complaint said company documents showed little to no work by the former Charlotte mayor. ... Foxx says records provided by trustee Elaine Rudisill contradict those claims. These records show 'activities and actions' by Foxx as deputy general counsel, as well as interactions with the company's outside law firms." How much money is in dispute? Upwards of $300,000. Read the Observer's full report here.

FIRST TO THE JOB: Foxx is appointing Kenneth Martin as DOT's first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tribal Government Affairs. From Foxx's statement over the weekend: "Mr. Martin, an enrolled member of Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will wholly support the President's call to strengthen the government-to-government relationship between the United States and tribal governments."

You're Invited - Playbook Breakfast with Secretary Ernest Moniz: POLITICO's Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen and POLITICO Energy Reporter Darius Dixon take Playbook live for a conversation with U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. Wednesday, May 18 - Doors at 7:30 a.m. - The W Hotel. RSVP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=728a9cfae59af5f154c47398285a507e91243fa40f4ef97d4d1bb9ea32b64da0

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):

- "Texas bus company in crash has faced vehicle problems before." The Associated Press.

- "Hawaii Sues Takata, Alleging Cover-Up of Airbag Defect." The New York Times.

- Uber's Chinese rival, Didi, to consider U.S. IPO as soon as 2017. Bloomberg.

- Oldest Amtrak derailment survivor: "It wasn't an act of God. It was an act of stupidity." The Associated Press.

- "With looming Metro disruptions, transportation companies ready their pitches to commuters." The Washington Post.

- About those disruptions ... "Smoke seeps into L'Enfant Plaza Metro station." The Washington Post.

- "Self-driving cars are expected to usher in a new era of mobility, safety and convenience. The problem, say transportation researchers, is that people will use them too much." The Associated Press.

- This TSA security line is horrifying, but in an awesome way: Instagram

THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 139 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 61 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 176 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 1,601 days.

** Presented by Norwegian Air: Norwegian is committed to affordable flights to Europe for every American. Norwegian's economic impact on the tourism, hospitality, and travel industries, along with its $18.5 billion order for new Boeing airplanes, help create and support tens of thousands of American jobs. Norwegian has the most US-based crew of any foreign airline, with plans for hundreds more, allowing it to provide communities like Ft. Lauderdale and Oakland their only nonstop scheduled flights to Europe.

Providing reliable, much-needed service is at the heart of Norwegian's mission and when airlines compete, consumers win. Get the facts on Norwegian Air International by visiting openourskies.com

American crew. American jobs. American planes. That's Norwegian. **

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