With help from Tanya Snyder
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— The long-running debate over how the FAA regulates foreign aircraft repair stations is back in the spotlight as a bill moves through the House.
— Republicans are reupping their accusations of partisanship on the House Transportation Committee.
— The 737 MAX is probably not coming back this year, with an aviation news outlet reporting the target now seems to be January 2020.
IT’S TURKEY DAY EVE: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. This is our last edition before Thanksgiving, so enjoy the food, family, good luck surviving one of the busiest travel days of the year. Get in touch with tips, feedback or song lyric suggestions at smintz@politico.com or @samjmintz.
(This song doesn’t have lyrics, but it’s called “Trains.”)
LISTEN HERE: Follow MT’s playlist on Spotify. What better way to start your day than with songs (picked by us and readers) about roads, rails, rivers and runways.
DEBATING FOREIGN REPAIR STATIONS: Legislation approved by the House Transportation Committee last week has reignited a debate over whether foreign repair stations that fix U.S. planes are adequately regulated, our Brianna Gurciullo reports. The measure, H.R. 5119 (116), would forbid the FAA from certifying any more overseas facilities until it gets out rules mandated by Congress, including one to require alcohol and drug testing, and would require those stations to face an unannounced inspection at least once a year.
The bill is a long-time priority of House Transportation Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). “I’ve been working on this for decades, and I believe it’s time for action and not yet another advisory group composed of self-interested, conflicted individuals who will then report to the FAA, who then might or might not do something about it,” he said at a markup.
But others have pointed out that these aren’t easy tasks for the FAA. The agency, for example, has said it needs to be mindful of other countries’ laws before requiring drug testing. And the State Department has warned that surprise FAA inspections of foreign repair stations could make other countries want to do the same here.
Labor unions claim the bill would boost both safety and fair competition. But groups including airlines and the Aeronautical Repair Station Association argue that air carriers are already incentivized to take maintenance work seriously.
The bottom line: It looks like there could be enough momentum for the legislation to pass the House, but Senate passage would be a hurdle given the lack of Republican support and powerful interests lined up against it.
PARTISANSHIP PUSH: House Transportation Committee Republicans continued their campaign accusing their Democratic counterparts of partisanship with a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, warning that it could effect work on an infrastructure bill. “T&I Republicans are concerned that our traditionally bipartisan committee is becoming distracted by partisan and political battles instead of focusing on what we were sent to Washington to do,” they wrote. The lawmakers started raising concerns after last week’s markup that included the repair station legislation and a pipeline safety reauthorization, which they said were pushed through without consulting them.
For context: It’s been a regular talking point of Republicans that impeachment proceedings are distracting from issues like health care, infrastructure and trade. But there’s no evidence that T&I specifically has slowed down, with work continuing on surface transportation reauthorization legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the next few months. And while DeFazio has said he’ll cut out Republicans on the climate change portion of the bill because they’re unwilling to prioritize the issue, he’s also said he doesn’t mind looping them in on other parts.
DeFazio fires back: “I would remind the Ranking Member that it was a tantrum by President [Donald] Trump during a meeting with Congressional leaders that slowed down bipartisan progress on infrastructure,” the chairman said in a statement. “And for those keeping count, more than 90 percent of the bills considered by this Committee have been bipartisan.”
MAX TIMELINE SLIPPING TOWARD 2020: It was probably inevitable, but it looks like the FAA’s efforts to certify fixes to the grounded Boeing 737 MAX will slip into next year. January is the earliest date for a return to service on the likely timeline, the Air Current reported Tuesday, citing regulators, customers and pilot groups. Milestones still outstanding: a formal certification flight, a Flight Standardization Board report, and simulator trials by a Joint Operational Evaluation Board.
The FAA also sent a letter to Boeing that, as Air Current editor Jon Ostrower explained, “formally put the kibosh on the possibility of Boeing delivering new 737 Max airplanes before the final Airworthiness Directive is approved. FAA said it won’t issue any Airworthiness Certificates without the AD in place.”
A FALSE ALARM ABOVE WASHINGTON: Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane (violating D.C. airspace restrictions)! It’s… a flock of birds? The White House was locked down and the Capitol briefly evacuated Tuesday morning following reports of an unauthorized plane. It appeared to be a false alarm that may have been caused by a flock of birds, which raises some questions about the radar systems. One other fact check: There’s no evidence that any jets were scrambled, which was widely reported. NORAD said in a statement that it sent a single Coast Guard helicopter to investigate.
COMING SOON: A sleep study, brought to you by the FAA. The agency is planning a study on the relationship between aircraft noise and the probability it will wake up people who live near airports. Specifically, the agency is going to collect “nationally representative information on the effects of aircraft noise on sleep and to derive exposure-response relationships between aircraft noise and its effect on communities around United States civilian airports.” The data could guide potential updates to aviation noise policy, the FAA said in a notice.
LAWMAKERS QUESTION COAST GUARD CUTTER CONTRACT: House Transportation Committee leaders from both parties are drawing attention to a contract for Coast Guard cutters, your MT host reports. In a letter to DHS, they said they’re worried about a federal government proposal to extend the timeline of a contract to a Florida shipbuilder and spend more than $600 million in extra funding after the shipyard was damaged by Hurricane Michael last year. The lawmakers argue the contract was a risk to begin with, and question DHS’ decision not to pivot to another shipbuilder.
THE YEAR AHEAD IN PTC: As we’ve reported, positive train control is already up and running on 91 percent of the route miles that will need to have it by Dec. 31, 2020. But only 25 percent of host-tenant pairs have achieved interoperability, so that’s a major goal for the coming year, said Carolyn Hayward-Williams, staff director for the signal and train control section at FRA, during a Railroad Safety Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Another major goal for the year, according to Hayward-Williams, is the completion of field testing and the commencement of revenue service demonstration, a lengthy and more advanced stage of testing that seven railroads still haven’t started. Some aren’t even yet working with their final configuration of software and hardware. The third goal for the year, of course: PTC system certification, including safety plans complete with hazard analyses and risk assessments as well as working out operating rules and procedures. “This is a really important document,” she said, since it will govern how a railroad will address failures — “which we all know will happen, they always do, but what is your recovery?”
— “Uber drives up prices for shared rides, Chicago data reveals.” Reuters.
— “New deal ends CN Rail strike, work to resume Wednesday.” POLITICO Pro Canada.
— “VDOT change could put Alexandria bus and bicycle-pedestrian improvements at risk.” ALX Now.
— “Wintry storm delivers US travel woes before Thanksgiving.” Associated Press.
— “Commuters went rogue and staged a full Thanksgiving meal on the New York subway.” Washington Post.
DOT appropriations run out in 23 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,404 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 309 days.
