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— The House is starting its appropriations process this week, with subcommittee markups of spending bills including for DHS and DOT.
— The Trump administration finally weighed in with recommendations for airports and airlines to try to contain the pandemic.
— Contact tracing in the skies is still lagging, but there’s a glimmer of hope for a solution soon.
IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. Get in touch with tips, feedback or song lyric suggestions at [email protected] or @samjmintz.
“I hopped off the plane at LAX / With a dream and my cardigan.”
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, railways, rivers and runways.
TIME TO SPEND: Fresh off the passage of a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill, H.R. 2 (116), the House is kicking off its fiscal 2021 appropriations this week, with plans to release and mark up all 12 spending bills in subcommittees. If you’ve been paying attention since Congress became divided, you know what to expect: Both chambers will use the appropriations process as a messaging exercise, including policy riders they know will never survive conference.
Homeland security: Under the House’s proposal, DHS as a whole would get static funding, Pro’s Jennifer Scholtes reports ahead of a hearing today. TSA would get a slight boost in the bill, although the roughly $7.6 billion designated for the transportation security agency falls slightly short of the Trump administration’s $8.24 billion request.
Of note for TSA: The bill would extend a pilot program for providing screening services outside of existing primary passenger terminals through 2023. The agency would also be required to send Congress a report on its plans for technology upgrades and investments.
Where the bill will get bogged down: “Election-year politics will only exacerbate the now-perennial fight over border wall funding, increasing the likelihood that Congress resorts to a continuing resolution that keeps DHS funding bumping along at current levels,” writes Jennifer.
DOT’s up later this week: The House Appropriations Transportation-HUD Subcommittee will meet on Wednesday, meaning the text of that legislation will come out today.
CARES ACT FOLLOWUP: Munley Law, a Pennsylvania firm connected to Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright, was the recipient of a CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program loan, one of several members of Congress who benefited from the program that they created, according to new data released by the Treasury Department on Monday. MT readers will remember Cartwright and Munley because conservative groups alleged that the Democrat would benefit from a bill he sponsored to raise the minimum liability insurance level for truckers. The firm specializes in trucking and auto litigation.
Another beneficiary: Foremost Group, the shipping company owned by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s father. The maritime firm got between $350,000 and $1 million and said it will use the money to retain 20 jobs.
For information about a wide array of transportation, mobility and tech companies that received loans, Andrew Hawkins at The Verge has you covered.
ANGRY AT AMTRAK: Amtrak is trying to reduce its long-distance routes, some say using the pandemic as cover, and senators aren’t having it. The New York Times reported that 16 lawmakers wrote angry letters questioning why the railroad company is instituting such steep cuts (including suspending daily service on some routes and slashing its workforce by 20 percent), despite getting $1 billion in emergency aid.
A key quote: “I fear that the Covid-19 pandemic is convenient reasoning to … dismantle the national system,” said John Robert Smith, a former chair of Amtrak’s board.
GETTING INVOLVED: The Trump administration issued a long-awaited federal guidance for airlines and airports late last week. It’s a sign of life from a federal government that, up to this point, had been quiet on many of the pressing issues facing the industry, but the non-binding document still doesn’t go far enough for many labor groups and lawmakers who have been calling for mandatory rules. As our Brianna Gurciullo reports, the guidance strongly encourages airlines and airports to require masks, calls for carriers to consider limiting seating on board, and recommends that the airlines also use health self-declarations.
View from the industry: Todd Hauptli, president and CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives, generally praised the guidance but said it’s “not perfect” and that some of it will be “difficult to implement absent federal requirements and resources.”
Where’s Congress: Well, on planes, much more often than the average American citizen right now. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, who’s been making the long flight back and forth between Oregon and D.C., joined the voices chiding American Airlines for selling middle seats (as other airlines continue to do as well). “How many Americans will die [because] you fill middle seats, [with] your customers shoulder to shoulder, hour after hour,” he asked. Later, Merkley said he will introduce legislation to ban the sale of middle seats during the pandemic. While such a ban might make passengers more comfortable, it would still not ensure social distancing aboard planes.
In the House: Top Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are again pushing TSA to mandate that travelers passing through airport checkpoints wear masks. “This is a basic measure that should have been taken months ago,” wrote Reps. Bennie Thompson (Miss.) and Lou Correa (Calif.). “Further delays will exacerbate the spread of this pandemic and endanger the safety, security, and health of employees and passengers.”
FAILING AT CONTACT TRACING: Months into the pandemic, the airline industry is still facing challenges when it comes to contact tracing, Brianna wrote late last week. The central problem remains the same: Airlines say updating their systems to gather the information the CDC wants would take a year and cost more than a million dollars.
There’s been some progress, though, as carriers and the Trump administration seem to be proceeding with an online portal they’re hoping can be operational by Sept. 1.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Five airlines — American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and SkyWest Airlines — have agreed on terms with the Treasury Department to take coronavirus-related loans, Brianna reported. “Conversations with other airlines continue, and we look forward to finalizing agreements as soon as possible,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.
FROM DOT TO THE GOLDEN ARCHES: Former DOT chief of staff Geoffrey Burr is one of dozens of lobbyists with ties to the Trump administration who have helped clients receive coronavirus aid, according to The Associated Press. Burr is one of the Brownstein Hyatt lobbyists who contacted the White House and Congress on coronavirus-related matters on behalf of McDonald’s. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, per AP.
Michelle Peacock has joined Waymo as head of global public policy. Previously, she worked on public policy and government relations at PayPal, Cisco, eBay and Microsoft.
— “Why a global fight over airplane manufacturing is affecting wine lists in Colorado restaurants.” Colorado Sun.
— “Police reformers eye transit cops amid steep deficits.” POLITICO Pro New York.
— “The pandemic-driven rise in animals crossing.” The Atlantic.
— “Face shields AND face masks now mandatory on Qatar Airways.” CNN.
— “Uber, Postmates deal would dominate Los Angeles, Miami markets.” Reuters.
DOT appropriations run out in 85 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,181 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 85 days.
