With help from Tanya Snyder
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— House Democrats passed their $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill on a near-party line vote. Next stop? Congressional purgatory, for most of it.
— The FAA finished three days of test flights on the Boeing 737 MAX, moving the grounded plane one step closer to returning to service.
— DOT’s new campaign to spread awareness about children dying from heatstroke in cars didn’t impress one leading lawmaker on the issue.
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THE DEED IS DONE: The House passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill on Wednesday, a major accomplishment, but one that’s destined for “a starring role in rhetoric and talking points for both parties in the run-up to the presidential election” rather than the president’s desk, our Tanya Snyder reports.
The legislation, which is chock full of Democratic priorities and has been roundly bashed by Republicans who say they had little input, passed 233-188. “This bill is huge and transformative. And we need it,” said sponsor Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who chairs the House Transportation Committee.
Who crossed party lines: Two of the most conservative Democrats in the House (Ben McAdams of Utah and Collin Peterson of Minnesota) were the only members in their party to vote no, while three moderate Republicans (Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania) voted yes. Here’s the full roll call list.
What’s up in the Senate: There’s a push by Environment and Public Works Committee leaders to get something passed in the full chamber soon, as a counterpart to the surface transportation bill that makes up the core of the House’s infrastructure package. “Three months from today, the surface transportation authorization will expire. This can’t be allowed to happen, especially during this pandemic-caused economic downturn,” Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on Wednesday. His Democratic counterpart, Tom Carper of Delaware, reminded him what Democrats (who have signed onto the committee’s highway bill) are waiting for: “It’s time for the Banking and Commerce committees to develop their own bipartisan titles” on transit, rail and safety.
A MILESTONE FOR THE MAX: The FAA has now wrapped up three days of certification test flights for the Boeing 737 MAX, a major step toward putting the plane back in the air, although plenty of work still remains, starting with a review of the data from the flights by regulators. As our Brianna Gurciullo reports that beyond that, next steps include determining what training pilots will need to fly the plane and reviewing final design documents from Boeing. The timeframe remains unclear, but experts think the grounding wouldn’t be lifted until at least September.
DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK: The DOT inspector general report on the 737 MAX released this week was met with mixed reviews. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who has pushed for changes to the FAA’s certification process and harsher punishment for Boeing, said that it “lays bare the company’s reprehensible actions and the Federal Aviation Administration’s deficient oversight.” But Richard Clifford, a lawyer representing families of crash victims who are suing Boeing, said in a statement that it “adds nothing to the public’s or families’ understanding of the failure of the FAA to properly oversee Boeing’s manufacturing and certification activity.”
For DeFazio, the report also “reinforces some of the findings” of his committee’s investigation into the MAX’s certification, he said in a statement. DeFazio is planning to roll out legislation of his own in September, Brianna reports. It’s expected to go farther than a bill introduced by Senate Commerce Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), which would make significant changes to the FAA’s program for delegating certification tasks to airplane manufacturers.
SAME GOAL, DIFFERENT APPROACHES: DOT on Wednesday announced a $3 million public safety campaign aimed at preventing child deaths in hot cars — a doubling of its usual budget. The radio and digital ad spree — to teach drivers the mantra “Park. Look. Lock.” — will target the 18 states with the highest number of child heatstroke fatalities, according to the department.
NHTSA Deputy Administrator James Owens specifically thanked Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection Subcommittee, for her leadership on the issue, though DOT didn’t invite her to participate in the event. That’s for the best, Schakowsky told POLITICO — “they probably knew I wasn’t going to be clapping away” for NHTSA’s public education program. “You don’t have to convince people it’s a bad idea” to lock kids in hot cars, she said. “If you ask the 53 people whose kids died in cars [last year], they would agree with that, that it’s a bad idea not to check that back. But what we know is that education programs simply don’t work.”
She’s been pushing for legislation to require carmakers to include technology to detect a person left in the car after it’s been turned off and alert the driver — which is included in the infrastructure bill passed by the House on Wednesday.
BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE 700 MILLION? YRC Worldwide, one of the biggest trucking companies in North America, is now nearly 30 percent government-owned. The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it’s giving YRC, which was deemed “critical to national security,” a $700 million loan in exchange for a $29.6 percent equity stake in the company. YRC is a “leading provider of critical military transportation and other hauling services to the U.S. government and provides 68% of less-than-truckload services to the Department of Defense,” Treasury said. The loan will help the company to maintain around 30,000 trucking jobs.
Of note: The Pentagon is suing YRC for overcharging and breach of contract, according to CNN.
PRECAUTIONARY TALE: CBP was planning to reopen its trusted traveler program enrollment centers next week, but due to the recent coronavirus spike, the agency is putting that action off until at least Aug. 10. “The decision was made in consultation with CBP health and safety experts who are closely monitoring the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in several states,” the agency said in a statement.
— DFW Airport will require masks starting Thursday, nearly two months after airlines did.” Dallas Morning News.
— “Tesla battery cooling system is subject of federal safety probe.” Los Angeles Times.
— “Aeromexico CEO says company must ‘transform’ as shares sink after bankruptcy filing.” Reuters.
— “Tesla tops Toyota to become largest automaker by market value.” CNBC.
— “Global manufacturing shows fresh signs of recovery.” Wall Street Journal.
DOT appropriations run out in 90 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,186 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 90 days.
