With the help of Oriana Pawlyk, Eleanor Mueller and Doug Palmer
— House passes $700 billion tax, health care and climate bill and big changes to the electric vehicle tax credit are coming within this week.
— Union leaders say freight rail issues are causing ongoing congestion at West Coast container ports.
— NHTSA Administrator Steve Cliff is leaving to take a position as California’s air and climate regulator.
IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington politics guide to everything that moves. As always, send in tips, speeches, reviews and lyrics [email protected]. You can find us all on Twitter:@alextdaugherty,@TSnyderDC AND@Oriana0214.
“For once I want to be the car wreck/Not always just the traffic jam/Hit me hard enough to wake me up/And drive me wild on your dark roads”
(Almost) SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: Democrats scored their biggest victory since taking full control of Washington 19 months ago, as the House of Representatives on Friday night passed a health care, climate and tax bill, fulfilling a key promise of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and capping off more than a year of talks on the Hill, Sarah Ferris and Jordain Carney report. The bill now heads to Biden’s desk for his signature, and when it becomes law, a number of policy changes, including a revamped electric vehicle tax credit, will take effect immediately. Biden said he plans to formally sign the bill this week, though a larger ceremony will take place in September.
ABOUT THOSE LOANS: A slew of electric cars currently on the market won’t be eligible for federal tax credits starting next week. The bill requires cars to be assembled in North America to qualify for tax credits, although buyers who have a binding contract before the bill becomes law will qualify for existing credits, which are capped at 200,000 per manufacturer, but they do not require a vehicle to be assembled in America.
BUY A FERRARI TODAY: Starting January 1, the tax credit will only apply to vehicles that meet the battery and critical mineral resource requirements. Currently, no electric vehicles on sale in the US meet these requirements, but proponents like Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) argue that the requirements are necessary to encourage the existence of a household battery supply chain. Also, wealthy buyers and expensive cars will now not be eligible for tax credits of up to $7,500. Currently, millionaires who want to buy ultra-expensive electric vehicles like the Ferrari SF90 Stradale are eligible for a tax credit, but that will change once the reconciliation bill becomes law.
REDUCED PRICES: The average price of a gallon of gas is now under $4, according to AAA, prompting a new round of credit-taking and celebration by Biden and the Democrats. It is now the first time since early March that gas is below $4 a gallon and more than a dollar cheaper than the all-time high of $5.01 a gallon set in early June.
“This is over a dollar less than peak prices,” Biden tweeted. “And I’m not done calling on oil producers to increase supply so that prices can fall even more.”
PORTS STILL HOLD: Various union leaders said West Coast container ports are still gridlocked, despite lower volumes of ships waiting to dock, due to a lack of truck chassis and rail capacity.
“Right now, these carriers are moving cargo to different docks because of overcrowding problems,” International Longshoremen’s and Warehouse Union’s International Longshoremen’s Committee Frank Ponce de Leon said during a call with union leaders to criticize the railroads. Class 1 goods while negotiating a labor agreement through a Presidential Emergency Board. “If they had their way, they’d move it to LA/Long Beach.”
UH, WE’VE ALREADY DONE THAT: Ponce de Leon took a swipe at the White House, which previously announced that some terminals will now be open 24/7 to deal with shortages, noting that the longshoreman has already worked 24/7 schedules to fill the trains well ahead of the administration. announcement. “Our members start raising their hands when the administration says ‘We’re going 24/7,'” Ponce de Leon said.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPS: He added that many ships are told to slow down en route to LA/Long Beach due to ongoing congestion at the port, to prevent the congestion in the port (and associated environmental concerns) that was emblematic of the chain’s challenges supply end of last year. “They’ve moved those ships 150 miles … so we’re still getting a steady flow,” Ponce de Leon said.
DON’T ASK DON’T… SERIOUSLY DON’T ASK: The ILWU, which represents 22,000 West Coast port workers, is also in the midst of closely watched contract negotiations and is keeping its cards close to its chest on how those talks are going.
“We don’t negotiate in a fishbowl,” Ponce De Leon said in response to a question from Eleanor in a press call on Friday. “I’m not privileged to talk about anything about how the negotiations are going.”
The contract currently in force expired more than a month ago on July 1. The last time the two sides were at the negotiating table in 2014, talks dragged on for nine months — creating a multi-ship backlog and costing sellers millions.
HANGER CLIFF: Cliff is resigning to take a position as California’s air and climate regulator, Debra Kahn reports, less than three months after receiving Senate confirmation. He will return to the California Air Resources Board as an executive officer responsible for overseeing the agency’s broad portfolio of regulations on conventional pollution and greenhouse gases.
“I see my appointment to CARB as putting me in a unique position to work with California, other states and our federal partners to build on the President’s vision to support the transition to zero-emission cars, trucks and equipment,” Cliff said in a statement.
NHTSA Chief Counsel Ann Carlson will take over Cliff’s duties in an acting capacity, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
TELECOM VICTORY: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday appealed an earlier FCC ruling that allowed spectrum within the 5.9 GHz frequency band to be repurposed for uses other than automatic security technology, Oriana reports. The lawsuit, filed last year by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, sought to challenge the FCC’s 2020 decision to allocate spectrum to unlicensed users of wireless devices that were previously reserved for safety technologies that allow vehicles to communicate with each other.
INTERAGENCY CONFLICT: Known as the safety band, the FCC—despite resistance and concern from the DOT and others—allowed additional equipment to use the lower 45 MHz while reserving the remaining 30 MHz for transportation safety uses, particularly an auto safety technology called the Mobile-for-Everything Vehicle. The band has been reserved for vehicle security purposes since 1999, but has been underutilized.
The Internet and Television Association, now known as NCTA, called the decision a victory for American consumers. “The Commission’s unanimous, bipartisan order modernizes a band that has been largely unused for more than 20 years, and today’s court decision enables that important 5.9GHz spectrum to provide consumers with high-speed Wi-Fi even more reliability and access to next-generation automotive safety applications,” the trade group said.
NEW ACCOUNT JUST CREATED: A copycat account of the “Biden Wins” page highlighting White House accomplishments called “Buttigieg wins” has begun posting DOT updates and framing them as “victories” for Buttigieg, who of course has not ruled out a future presidential bid.
“The Inflation Reduction Act includes new tax credits for electric vehicles and will increase domestic battery production. This is a Buttigieg win!” it’s standard rate from the account, which has nearly 18,000 followers since it began tweeting earlier this month.
USTR REVIEWS EU CRITICISM OF EV TAX CREDIT: US Trade Representative Katherine Tai is definitely not faking the European Union’s charge that a tax credit for electric vehicles appears to violate World Trade Organization rules.
The House approved the renewed loans despite EU pleas for lawmakers to remove “discriminatory” elements from the bill. South Korea has also complained about the way the provision is structured.
“This bill provides strong incentives to reduce our dependence on China for critical materials that will power this key industry, and we look forward to working with allies and partners to advance our climate goals, strengthen and diversify our supply chains.” to supply and address our commons. concerns with China’s non-trade policies and practices,” USTR spokesman Adam Hodge said in response to the criticism.
– “Embarrassing, uncomfortable and dangerous: What flying is like for passengers who use wheelchairs.” New York Times.
— “A California startup is selling electric vehicle ‘subscriptions’.” Bloomberg.
— “Audi, Porsche, Kia say US buyers of electric vehicles will lose tax credit under legislation.” Reuters.
— “HOV privileges are ending for EV drivers in Maryland.” Washington Post.
