Transportation

A 'peculiar' meeting kicks off infrastructure work for Buttigieg


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EXCLUSIVE: OPEN THE PURSE STRING: BUTTIGIEG HIGH ON DEFICIT SPENDING: Pete Buttigieg’s first Oval Office meeting probably didn’t go as he had imagined it might: wheeled in on a TV, appearing virtually from quarantine after a member of his security detail had tested positive for Covid-19.

“The logistics were peculiar,” Buttigieg told POLITICO about last week’s meeting, in a recent interview.The first time in my life that I’ve been invited across the threshold in the Oval Office and it’s on a TV cart, but that’s about as 2021 as it gets. And they made it work without a hitch.”

Buttigieg was more interested in talking about the substance of the meeting — and like President Joe Biden, he seems set on making infrastructure a bipartisan process, despite the continued rancor in D.C., and Democrats’ decision not to rely on Republican support for Covid relief. “You often hear me say that we have issue after issue where there’s bipartisan consensus among the American people, but it’s not reflected on Capitol Hill,” Buttigieg said. “One really encouraging exception to that is the work that that [the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee] did with their unanimous surface transportation bill about a year and a half ago.”

It was interesting that Buttigieg brought up that legislation, which was led by Republicans, who controlled the Senate last year, but had bipartisan support from committee Democrats. It was criticized by some in the House, who said it wasn’t ambitious or big enough. And the committee’s own Democratic leaders have said they’re not going to just revisit that now that they control the Senate. “The line items may change, the programming may change, and the numbers may change, but I think that the principle of finding a way to get there is something that we can absolutely build on,” Buttigieg said. MT asked whether he meant the numbers would be going up. “I wouldn’t expect them to go down,” he replied.

More thoughts from Buttigieg: In our story for subscribers published Friday. Here’s a crib sheet: He strongly signaled he’s on board with deficit funding for an infrastructure bill, citing current rock bottom interest rates. “It would be strange not to have that be part of our thinking and our strategy and I think it ought to be,” he said. And he sounded a skeptical note about implementing a vehicle miles traveled fee to replace the federal gas tax. “It’s not the only approach and I’m not yet convinced that it’s necessarily the best approach, but it could be,” Buttigieg said, adding that he hopes “we don’t back into a decision about the user-pays principle because we can’t figure out the mechanics of it.”

IT’S TUESDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your guide to what Washington’s doing on planes, trains, cars and everything that moves. MT hopes you had a restful three-day weekend, but it’s time to get back to work. We’re diving into covering the Biden administration, and MT would love to hear your tips, pitches and feedback about the next four years. Get in touch at [email protected] or @samjmintz.

“Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea / Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream.”

Rock out to our transportation playlist on Spotify.

A NEW ATTITUDE: The Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee might start leaning toward a less car-centric approach to funding under new chair Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Stephanie reported. Schatz, whose selection was announced Friday, has been a champion of “complete streets” that are more accessible to pedestrians and a variety of transportation modes such as bikes, scooters and public transportation. During Buttigieg’s confirmation hearing, Schatz encouraged him to push local governments to spend on projects that looked beyond widening roads so a “maximum number of cars can move at the maximum speed.” He could be a powerful ally for Buttigieg, who has said he wants to put greater emphasis on nontraditional modes and greener infrastructure.

For security: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was named chair of the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee. Our transportation security watchers may recall that he recently renewed his co-sponsorship of a bill (S.73) that would ban federal agencies from buying or operating Chinese drones, which he has said could be used to steal sensitive data.

MORE COMMITTEE NEWS: The House Science, Space and Technology Committee also revealed its new roster of subcommittee leaders on Friday — although the panel has not yet decided which lawmakers will fill out each subcommittee, POLITICO’s Jacqueline Feldscher writes.

MONEY TALKS: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a House proposal to include approximately $95.5 billion for transportation in a Covid relief package would “increase direct spending by roughly $90.5 billion over the 2021-2030 period and would increase revenues by an insignificant amount over the same period.”

NO. 2: The White House officially nominated Polly Trottenberg for deputy Transportation secretary on Saturday. If confirmed, she would fill a role that has been vacant since Jeffrey Rosen left in 2019 to join the Department of Justice.

NAIL IN THE COFFIN?: It would appear that discussions within the Biden administration about possibly requiring Covid testing for domestic flights are dead. “Reports that there is an intention to put in place new requirements, such as testing, are not accurate,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday after a meeting between White House officials and airline CEOs. As Sam reported, the definitive response on the matter followed days of administration officials declining to rule out a testing requirement, which prompted a “full-court press” response from airlines, labor unions, manufacturers and others from the aviation industry.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: DOT on Friday announced the availability of $2 billion in Covid relief for U.S. airports. The money will be provided under the Airport Coronavirus Response Grant Program, which was established under the Trump administration with funds approved by Congress in the last stimulus bill. “The funds will go toward protecting airport jobs while keeping travelers and employees safe,” Buttigieg tweeted. Airports have until June 30 to apply.

ACROSS THE BORDER: New Covid testing rules for nonessential air travel to Canada will go into effect on Monday. Those flying to Canada must take a molecular test upon arrival, in addition to showing proof of negative pre-flight test results, according to POLITICO’s Lauren Gardner. And air travelers will be required to book reservations in a government-approved hotel — including the costs of food, cleaning and infection control measures at those hotels — while they await their results. Travelers crossing into Canada at land borders will be required to show proof of a negative molecular test within 72 hours of arrival starting today. And they also will be required to take a test upon arrival as of Feb. 22.

RIGHT TO REPAIR GOING NATIONAL: Backers of the successful “Right to Repair” ballot question in Massachusetts, which requires car manufacturers to open up access to vehicle data to be used for repairs, are looking to move national. LKQ, an alternative and specialty parts provider, and allies in a group called the Car Coalition (which includes Autozone and the Automotive Body Parts Association) are launching a five-figure digital ad push today, anticipating that a new federal right-to-repair bill will be introduced soon. “We are fighting for simple changes in laws and regulations to counter the latest schemes of car manufacturers, preserve competition and lower your repair bill,” the groups say in a video that’s part of the campaign.

AEM GOES ALL OUT IN MILWAUKEE: With Biden heading to Milwaukee today, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, which is headquartered there, is setting up a multipronged ad campaign urging the president to focus on their priorities, which include infrastructure investment. AEM has a full-page ad in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel through Wednesday, a 30-second ad running on the White House cable feed, and billboards saying “President Biden, invest in infrastructure” outside the city.

VACCINES TO GO: The motorcoach industry, reeling from the pandemic and trying to find ways to keep drivers and mechanics on the job, is making the pitch that its buses should be used as mobile vaccination units. Several companies and associations have teamed up to write a white paper arguing that mobilizing the country’s idled motorcoach fleet could accelerate vaccine deployment and improve access. “Mobile vaccination units can be used to supplement existing vaccine clinics at ‘pop-up‘ sites, pharmacies or elsewhere, but can also be moved to places of work, schools and elsewhere to ensure that working families do not need to miss work in order to receive the vaccine safely,” wrote the coalition. Using buses this way (and for transporting people to vaccine sites) could result in as many as 25 million additional vaccine doses being administered within 90 days of enactment, the industry groups argue.

The groups are reaching out to local and federal officials with the pitch, and industry sources said the Biden administration and congressional offices have been receptive to the idea.

— “Some truckers are thriving as companies reset supply chains.” The Wall Street Journal.

— “EU mulls new Airbus subsidy model to appease Biden.” POLITICO Pro.

— “Study finds subway air is heavily contaminated with hazardous pollutants.” The Washington Post.

— “Advocates for homeless sue N.Y.C. subway system over Covid rules.” The New York Times.





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