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— The House is rolling out its surface bill this week, setting up negotiations with Senate Republicans over policy and pay-fors.
— Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee are introducing legislation that would make changes at the FAA in response to the Boeing 737 MAX crisis.
— The NTSB called on helicopter manufacturers to start installing black boxes, while chiding federal aviation regulators for ignoring previous recommendations.
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Calling all China watchers: The trajectory of the U.S.-China relationship will determine whether this century is judged a bright or a dismal one. Make sure to check out the new China newsletter from POLITICO’s David Wertime that will be worth the read.
HOUSE SURFACE BILL INCOMING: House Democrats are set to unveil a $494 billion surface transportation bill, with a hefty focus on climate mitigation. Our Tanya Snyder got the details ahead of a rollout planned for this week. In some ways, the bill would maintain the transportation status quo, with twice as much money dedicated for highways as for public transit and rail combined.
But it would also include innovative policies designed to match Democrats’ priorities, including a new office to align housing development with transit and boosted funding to increase transit service and for agencies to buy electric buses.
The climate provisions are also a key part of Democrats’ policy platform. DOT would be required to establish a new performance measure on greenhouse gas emissions that states would need to report on, and the highest achievers would get more options for using funds from a new $8.4 billion carbon reduction program. The bill would also include $1.8 billion for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
We’re obligated to say this: You’ve heard it before, but this is a necessary disclaimer. The House Ways and Means Committee has not figured out how to pay for the bill, and that’s a lot of moolah to promise without plans for how to write the check. Senate leaders also haven’t given a proposal for how to pay for their own $287 billion surface bill, S. 2302 (116).
Now that the two proposals are out, negotiations between the chambers can start in earnest, but don’t expect quick progress. It’s still very likely, especially given the tough decisions about pay-fors, that Congress will extend the existing law and push off the tough work until after the election.
CHAO TODAY: POLITICO Playbook authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman will kick off their “Inside the Recovery” series with an interview with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao at 11 a.m. They’ll discuss DOT’s role in the pandemic recovery and the likelihood of an infrastructure package before the November election.
LEGISLATING ON THE 737 MAX: The draft measure from Senate Commerce Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) wouldn’t significantly alter the FAA’s delegation program, which families of the victims of the two MAX crashes have said should be rolled back. But, as our Brianna Gurciullo reports, the bill would take several steps, including requiring manufacturers to use a varied sample of pilots when testing planes, and making plane builders come up with a Safety Management System like the kind that airlines have.
The proposal is less aggressive than what House Democrats have floated, but the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is still working on its own legislation based on its findings from investigating the MAX’s certification, an aide said.
If you’re surprised that there doesn’t appear to be an overhaul of aircraft certification in the works, well, you haven’t been reading our coverage for the past year.
BLACK BOXES ON CHOPPERS: The NTSB recommended on Tuesday that helicopter manufacturers install data, audio and image recorders, criticizing the FAA for failing to act. The lack of recorded data has hindered the NTSB’s investigations of crashes, the agency said, and asked helicopter manufacturers Airbus, Bell, Leonardo, MD Helicopters, Robinson and Sikorsky to fulfill recommendations that the FAA has ignored. Those include putting recording systems on new helicopters, and retrofitting old ones. “The more information we have, the better we can understand not only the circumstances of a crash, but what can be done to prevent future accidents,” said Dana Schulze, director of the NTSB Office of Aviation Safety.
The FAA requires air ambulance operations to have flight data recording systems, but only encourages others to use them on a voluntary basis. “Certain large helicopter manufacturers have installed recording capability as standard equipment for about the last decade,” the FAA said in a statement, adding that there’s no way of estimating how many lives would be saved or accidents prevented with the additional data.
AIRLINES PRESS ON LIGADO: Several major airlines, including Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, are signing on to a letter today asking for a hold on the FCC’s approval of Ligado Networks’ 5G plan until the government can resolve concerns about interference. The carriers join DOT and several other federal agencies in warning that proceeding as planned could “prevent serious harm arising from harmful interference into mission-critical satellite communications and GPS devices.”
TRAVEL KICKS UP IN THE AIR AND ON THE GROUND: Air travel hit a new Covid-era peak on Monday, with 353,261 passengers traveling through TSA checkpoints, according to agency data. That’s the most since March 22, which was when the precipitous decline in flying kicked off. There are promising signs for an uptick in people moving around on the ground, too, as Lyft reported a 26 percent increase in rides on its platform in May compared with April, according to Reuters.
CRUISIN’ FOR A LAWSUIT: Dozens of passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship are suing Carnival Corporation and the Princess cruise line, alleging gross negligence in the company’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak that left the ship stranded off in the San Francisco Bay for four days, POLITICO’s Victoria Colliver reports from California. The lawsuit claims that the cruise lines failed to properly clean and sanitize the ship between trips, potentially exposing thousands of customers.
Carnival didn’t comment on the complaint, but defended the company’s treatment of guests and crew. “Our response throughout this process has focused on the well-being of our guests and crew within the parameters dictated to us by the government agencies involved and the evolving medical understanding of this new illness,” a spokesperson said.
— “High-speed Spanish passenger train hits car on track; 2 dead.” Associated Press.
— “Hawaiian Airlines adopts virus-stopping policies.” Honolulu Star Advertiser.
— “Coronavirus and public transport: Thermal cameras, payment apps.” Jerusalem Post.
— “This Treasury official is running the bailout. It’s been great for his family.” ProPublica.
— “Use of medical helicopters to target protesters a ‘foolish’ violation of norms, experts say.” Washington Post.
DOT appropriations run out in 119 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,215 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 119 days.
