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THE STATE OF PLAY: It’s a new week. Let’s zoom out a bit. The White House has now pushed out its deadline for infrastructure as it continues to negotiate with the GOP, but Congress is setting the pace. With the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee having unanimously approved a $311 billion, five-year piece of surface transportation legislation, there’s a new date to circle on the calendar: June 9, when the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is planning to mark up its own bill.
That’s the real starting gun: If Congress is making moves on must-pass transportation legislation ahead of a September 30 deadline, how will the White House respond? How long will Democrats be willing to take part in the ping-pong negotiations with Republicans that have moved slowly and yielded only slight concessions on either side?
One clue: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday expressed weariness with what he called a “dorm room debate” about what does and does not count as “real” infrastructure, as Republicans continue to accuse Democrats of shoehorning things like home health care and long-term care into an infrastructure bill where they don’t belong. “We think these things fit together,” Buttigieg said on “Fox News Sunday.” He said it was common for Congress to move “a number of different elements that are part of a related theme” together “because Americans can’t wait for us to resolve a dorm room debate over which policies belong in which categories. They want us to just get it done.”
One week: He said there needs to be a “clear direction” in the infrastructure negotiations by the time Congress returns from Memorial Day recess June 7.
— Buttigieg also appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union “and ABC’s “This Week.“
IT’S TUESDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation. Sam is back in the control tower, with help from Tanya, who masterfully steered the ship last week (we issue no apologies for mixed metaphors). Send along tips, pitches and feedback to [email protected] or @samjmintz.
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: President Joe Biden on Friday showed the work behind the American Jobs Plan, confirming that the plan would go for five years and spend $115 billion on roads and bridges, $85 billion on transit, $80 billion on rail and $25 billion on airports, for a total of $621 billion on transportation infrastructure.
Why mandatory spending? During a briefing Friday, the DOT deputy assistant secretary for finance and budget, Victoria Wassmer, said the request classifies the transportation pieces of the AJP as mandatory because “it is considered a one-time infusion of funds” and “it’s building off of the surface authorization, which is also considered mandatory funding.”
When asked to clarify whether the budget assumes those provisions will be carried on the next surface transportation bill, Wassmer largely dodged, saying DOT is “in active dialogue with the Congress and watching closely the activity that’s happening” on the surface transportation bill.
The upshot: The process of how an infrastructure plan and a surface bill will move is still opaque, but Wassmer explicitly connecting the two pieces together is notable.
The details: For fiscal 2022, the budget proposes to spend:
— $47 billion for FHWA, including $46.4 billion obligation limitation for federal-aid highways;
— $18.5 billion for the FAA, including $11.4 billion for operations and $4 billion for facilities and equipment;
— $13.5 billion for transit, including $2.5 billion for Capital Investment Grants and $550 million for Transit Infrastructure Grants, which includes $250 million for the Zero Emission Bus Program;
— $4 billion for rail, including $2.7 billion for Amtrak, of which $1.4 billion is for the national network and $1.3 billion for the Northeast Corridor. Another $625 million would go toward a new competitive Passenger Rail Improvement, Modernization, and Expansion grant program along with $375 billion for CRISI;
— $1 billion for NHTSA, including a $50 million increase for Vehicle Safety Programs;
— $2 billion for a new ARPA-I program, which Secretary Pete Buttigieg said would serve to jump-start research projects that are “several steps away from where the market can pick up and run with them,” including everything from vehicle automation to pavement.
— $1 billion for the RAISE grants, formerly known as TIGER/BUILD;
— $110 million for a new Thriving Communities program for eliminating transportation barriers and increasing access to opportunities; and
— $13 million for the Departmental Office of Civil Rights.
You can read the budget here, the analytical perspectives document here, and the appendix here.
BELARUS SANCTIONS ANNOUNCED: The State Department on Friday urged U.S. citizens not to travel to Belarus in the wake of the government’s action the previous Sunday faking a bomb threat, forcing a passenger jet to land and arresting a dissident journalist on board. The State Department issued a Level 4 Do Not Travel Warning, and the FAA warned U.S. passenger carriers “to exercise extreme caution when considering flying in Belarusian airspace.” The U.S. will also reimpose sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises, and the White House is coordinating with the European Union and other allies to develop targeted sanctions against the government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Myah Ward has the story.
RELEASING THE HOSTAGE: The Biden administration has approved the environmental impact statement for the Hudson Tunnel Project, allowing New York and New Jersey to move forward with pre-construction activities like property acquisition, engineering and federal design development for the $11.6 billion tunnel project. It also makes the project eligible for federal funding. The project has been stuck in limbo since Gateway officials submitted a draft EIS in February 2018, which the Trump administration never acted on. Danielle Muoio from POLITICO New York has the whole story.
The American Waterways Operators elected a new slate of leaders during its spring meeting, including Del Wilkins, president of Illinois Marine Towing, Inc., as chair, succeeding outgoing Chair Arthur Mead, vice president and chief counsel of Crowley Maritime Corp.
— “Relationship between driving and GDP during the pandemic.” Green Car Congress.
— “U.S. travelers on the road again with Memorial Day holiday still subdued by pandemic.” Reuters.
— “Trucker Yellow seeks to steady finances by streamlining operations.” The Wall Street Journal.
— “American, Southwest put off plans to serve alcohol after passenger disruptions, assault on board.” CNBC.
— “Fired Amtrak engineer opens up about 2017 DuPont crash, why he wants back in a locomotive.” Seattle Times.
