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The big questions on travel


With help from Stephanie Beasley and Danielle Muoio

Editor’s Note: Weekly Transportation is a weekly version of POLITICO Pro’s daily Transportation policy newsletter, Morning Transportation. POLITICO Pro is a policy intelligence platform that combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.

THE STATE OF TRAVEL: There’s no question that travel is on the way back and that airlines are on significantly firmer ground than they were a few months ago. But there are big Covid policy questions still standing that will shape the speed and direction of the recovery.

Restrictions: the British government greenlit 12 countries, meaning that travelers returning to the U.K. from those places won’t have to quarantine upon their return. The U.S. didn’t make the cut, which is noteworthy because travel and airline industry groups in both countries have been pushing their governments to find a way to ease restrictions and renew travel across the pond. “We continue to encourage the U.S. to implement a reciprocal policy that allows travelers who are fully vaccinated to travel to the U.S. from nations with similarly successful vaccination programs,” the U.S. trade group Airlines for America said on Friday.

Testing: It wasn’t all bad news for the airlines over the weekend. The CDC also announced on Friday that international travelers flying to the U.S., who are required to show proof of a recent negative test, can use home-testing kits to fulfill that mandate, as long as they fulfill several criteria (FDA-approved, and accompanied by a telehealth service providing supervision of the test). “This is an encouraging step in facilitating the international travel process,” A4A said.

Proof: Airlines are fighting a “scourge of passengers traveling with falsified Covid-19 health certificates,” the The Wall Street Journal reports, with the International Air Transport Association industry body saying it has tracked fake test results in countries including France, Brazil, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your guide to Washington policy and politics on planes, trains, cars and everything that moves. Send your tips, pitches and feedback to [email protected] or @samjmintz.

“Rivers and roads / Rivers and roads / Rivers ’til I reach you.”

DOT DISTASTE FOR I-45 EXPANSION: DOT is in the process of reviewing a Texas highway expansion project for potential civil rights and environmental justice issues, but to Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg, it’s not a secret where the administration comes down on I-45. On Friday, she referred to the contentious project as “a massive highway expansion that threatens to remove homes and businesses from a minority neighborhood, takes us in the wrong direction in terms of climate goals.” She called it a “great example of the very things I think the Biden administration is looking to do a better job on in transportation policy,” and praised her boss, Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for “asking the right questions” and considering different approaches.

Where things stand: DOT has asked Texas’ transportation agency to pause its work on the expansion while the federal review is ongoing, and local advocates and the county containing Houston have sued the state over the project.

What’s next: Former DOT lawyer Fred Wagner told POLITICO in April that next steps in what is a largely unprecedented process could include DOT ordering Texas to redo its analysis of the project or, more drastically, fully reject it under civil rights laws. Trottenberg’s comments suggest the agency isn’t likely to let Texas off the hook.

IT’S INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK: Or at least the week formerly known as Infrastructure Week. The advocacy coalition United for Infrastructure is holding a series of events starting today, when President Joe Biden and Buttigieg will kick things off. Here’s the full schedule.

From the Hill: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) maintained on “Meet the Press“ Sunday that the GOP is ready to compromise on infrastructure, if Democrats are willing to move toward their vision. “If we can find something that actually spends money on infrastructure — roads and bridges, imagine that, as opposed to what the Biden plan does, which is spend a trillion on things which have no relationship to infrastructure — we can cut a deal,” Cassidy said.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SCHOOL BUS: A new report and map out this week make the case for extending transit access for community colleges. The analysis from the Seldin / Haring-Smith Foundation finds that by extending existing transit infrastructure, an additional 25 percent of community colleges could be made accessible. For a population of students made up of mostly commuters, who are often “one flat tire away from dropping out,” it could make a big difference, the report argues.

The numbers: More than half of community and technical colleges, 56.5 percent, are located within half a mile of the nearest transit stop. And 18.4 percent of institutions do not have a transit stop within 4.5 miles. For the 345 colleges in between, extending transit by expanding an existing bus line or tweaking routes would be an affordable and valuable investment, the report says.

Support from the top: “Rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure has to include expanding access to safe, affordable, and reliable public transportation to and from community colleges,” said John King, president of the Education Trust and former Secretary of Education during the Obama administration.

DOT RESPONDS TO PIPELINE ATTACK BY EASING TRUCKING RULES: In response to the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which has shut down what one expert called the “jugular” of the country’s fuel pipeline system, DOT is easing its hours of service rules for some truck drivers hauling fuel, the agency announced Sunday. Drivers transporting gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products to 18 states will be temporarily exempted from the hours of service regulations. “USDOT’s top priority is safety, and while current circumstances dictate providing industry flexibility, FMCSA will work closely with its state and industry partners to monitor driver work hours and conditions for the duration of the exemption,” the agency said in a statement. Read the text of the regional emergency declaration here.

THINKING AHEAD: Former FAA chief Michael Huerta said Congress and the Biden administration should address outstanding questions about the federal, state and local oversight of drones and advanced air mobility vehicles in the next FAA reauthorization, which is due in 2023. The industry needs a “permanent and well-defined regulatory framework in which to operate,” he said during a virtual event hosted by JTR Strategies on Friday. Part of that is ensuring that FAA can move past approving experimental aircraft and granting temporary waivers to making permanent changes like recently issued FAA drone rules on remote identification and flights over people, he said. “I think that the industry felt that it took longer than it needed to, and in a sense they’re right,” he said. “But it does … that’s the kind of stuff that they need for this stuff to develop over the long-term.”

The future of flying: Huerta also said there are still questions about what the appropriate certification and compliance standards are for drones and advanced air mobility aircraft, such as air taxis. And there are questions about the kinds of facilities they will use, how they will share airspace with manned aircraft, and what authorities state and local officials will have over them when they operate in metropolitan areas, he said. “And I think that the administration and Congress really, as they think ahead to the next authorization, want to really give a lot of thought to how we can create the environment so that we can address this broader scope of challenges,” he said. “A lot of work has been done, but there’s a lot more to do.”

Evan Chapman will be deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.). He previously was director of government relations at the American Association of Port Authorities. Ian Gansler is joining the American Association of Port Authorities as government relations associate. He most recently was at O’Neill and Associates.

— “Cruise line threatens to skip Florida ports over proof-of-vaccination ban.” The New York Times.

— “Minnesota clears last big hurdle to adopt California clean car standards.” POLITICO Pro.

— “Goodyear RV tire linked to multiple deaths is still on motorhomes, listings indicate.” Consumer Reports.

— “Government made missteps in extending coronavirus aid to trucker, report says.” The Wall Street Journal.





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