With help from Daniel Lippman
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THE WEEK OF DEADLINES: Congress always lets it come down to the wire. On Wednesday, government funding runs out, the 2015 surface transportation authorization expires, and payroll support for airline workers ends.
Lawmakers are poised to address two of those in a neat package, H.R. 8337 (116). The Senate will have a procedural vote on the House-passed continuing resolution on Tuesday, followed by a likely final vote on Wednesday, squeaking in ahead of the midnight deadline. That bill would fund the government through Dec. 11 (Sam’s birthday!) and tack on a year-long surface transportation extension.
The issue of airline workers remains up in the air. You’ve read it here a dozen times but to briefly recap: Several major airlines, facing rock-bottom demand, have said they’ll have to furlough or lay off more than 40,000 employees on Thursday when payroll support from the CARES Act runs out.
Last week: Lots happened. The House and Senate have introduced standalone measures that would extend the Payroll Support Program until March 21, sending $28 billion to airlines to pay employees for another six months (with the same conditions as CARES). The Senate seemed to start moving on its bill, including plans for a possible voice vote, but those were stopped short. The House, meanwhile, has focused its efforts on drafting a larger relief bill that would include airline aid — but at this point, that seems unrealistic due to the tight timeline (not to mention focus has been pulled away to the must-pass stopgap and the Supreme Court battle).
The outlook for this week: There are still too many factors to be definitive, but the possible path to Congress getting this done — despite the bipartisan majority support — seems really, really narrow.
Nevertheless: American Airlines CEO Doug Parker on Sunday said he’s still banking on lawmakers reaching an agreement on a relief bill by the deadline. “There’s certainly not much time left, but there’s enough time,” Parker told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “Oftentimes a deadline like this is what is needed to get action.”
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MOVING PIECES: The Boeing 737 MAX is even closer to flying again after 18 months of work by regulators and the manufacturer to fix defects that led to two crashes and killed hundreds. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson plans to fly the plane this week, on a symbolic test flight the former pilot has promised would take place before his agency gives final approval.
Overseas: European aviation regulators are eyeing an “end in sight” to work on the MAX, as stated by EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky, and they’re aiming to allow it in the air in November, Reuters reported on Friday.
The final stretch: As our Tanya Snyder notes, several steps are still pending, including multiple review panels that need to issue their final reports. And airlines will still need to get their plans approved for changes to the planes in their fleets and new training for pilots.
IN THE HOUSE: Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Garret Graves (R-La.) introduced the first piece of legislation to come from the Transportation Committee’s investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX crisis on Friday, Sam reported. The bill calls for the FAA to assess how it looks at human interactions with flight controls and create a “framework to better integrate human factors,” per the story. However, it’s unclear if the legislation will be included in the larger MAX bill the committee is expected to release soon.
TEMPORARY RELIEF: DOT is extending temporary waivers exempting airlines from start-up and dormancy conditions for international routes to countries with caps on the number of flights permitted. The waivers — which DOT initially granted in March — were set to expire on Oct. 24. DOT announced on Friday that it would extend them until March 27, 2021. Without the waivers, DOT could yank the routes from airlines due to non-use. Airlines for America requested the extension.
A4A explained in its request that “international traffic has been and remains extraordinarily depressed and operating conditions have not improved.” Further, coronavirus-related travel restrictions and health regulations imposed in some jurisdictions have made it more difficult for airlines to operate flights to those locations, the group said. “For example, Japan does not allow U.S. nationals to enter its country with few exceptions and, therefore, our members have been unable to start or continue operations for their Haneda slot allocations with any duration,” according to the letter.
FOR YOUR RADAR: Consternation over DHS’ since-reversed move to prohibit New Yorkers from taking part in Trusted Traveler programs isn’t going away any time soon. The House Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday at which lawmakers will try to pick apart what Democrats say are inaccurate statements DHS officials have made to Congress, as well as a “profoundly and disturbingly deficient understanding of a program they were responsible for directing,” according to the committee.
Also: Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) has been named the new chair of the Homeland Security cybersecurity subcommittee, replacing Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who moved to the Ways and Means Committee.
ON CHINESE DRONES: A coalition of mostly U.S. drone companies sent a letter to Congress opposing a proposed ban on foreign-made drones that will be on the table when lawmakers begin negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act, as they are expected to after the elections. The proposed ban on federal use of drones and drone equipment made in China and other countries thought to pose a national security threat in the House version of the bill (H.R. 6395 (116)) would “stymie innovation,” they said.
Their position: “Under the guise of national security concerns, policymakers are trying to implement protectionist policies that will benefit a select few companies, while the consequences will have far reaching ramifications across many industries and the drone ecosystem,” the Coalition for Drones in American Businesses told leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services panels. Most of the 10 U.S. companies in the coalition are affiliated with Chinese drone manufacturing giant DJI. Although its eleventh member, the Switzerland-based Flyability, is a competitor.
Reminder: Proposals to ban foreign-made drones and equipment have been supported by another crop of U.S. companies that include Skydio, Teal Drones, and Impossible Aerospace.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE: President Donald Trump tweeted very early Saturday that he would grant a presidential permit to a freight rail project that would connect Alaska to Alberta, Canada, and the rest of the continent per the recommendation of Alaska Republicans Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young. The Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corp. had been pressing the White House to grant a cross-border permit for the project, commonly referred to as A2A, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported last year.
Precedent: A White House official told MT that the A2A Rail project could not move forward without the permit but that it “will still have to go through all the other regular processes to be built.” Trump similarly granted a presidential permit to the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline in July.
From Alaska: Neither lawmaker responded to MT’s request for comment. But a Sullivan spokesperson told the Anchorage Daily News that Trump reached out to the senator on Friday to get his view on the project, which the spokesperson said would expand the state’s transportation system and “provide greater security for food and supplies.” Young’s office also told the outlet that A2A Rail would allow the U.S. and Canada to “work hand-in-hand” to develop shared resources.
FIRST IN MT — DOT SHUFFLE: Doug Simon is moving over to DOT’s intergovernmental affairs department; he previously was DOT’s White House liaison. Joyce Yoon will be DOT’s public liaison; she previously was DOT’s deputy White house liaison.
IN MEMORIAM: Former NTSB Chair Mark Rosenker died on Saturday at the age of 73. As The Washington Post reported, Rosenker chaired the agency during several high-profile investigations, including the 2007 Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis that killed 13 people and injured 145. He also recently served as vice chair of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.
— “Joe Biden, Jill Biden to tour western Pennsylvania by train.” CBS Pittsburgh.
— DOT Secretary Elaine Chao endorses Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Twitter.
— “Barrett’s view on court precedents could spell trouble for climate law.” POLITICO Pro.
— “American secures larger government loan after rivals reject cash.” The Wall Street Journal.
— “The murky case for mass telecommuting.” Bloomberg CityLab.
DOT appropriations run out in 2 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,097 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 2 days.
