With help from Oriana Pawlyk and Tanya Snyder
— Billions will likely be needed to rebuild key infrastructure destroyed by Hurricane Ian but expect discussions about the types of costs associated with storm recovery.
— A short-term government funding bill that included billions for natural disasters helps avoid a shutdown, but expect contentious post-election discussions about a broader spending bill.
— Russia has been kicked out of an international aviation coalition because of the invasion of Ukraine.
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NEVER THE SAME: The scale of Hurricane Ian’s devastation is coming into focus, with 67 confirmed dead as of Sunday afternoon and parts of Southwest Florida completely wiped out. As a multiyear rebuilding process begins, Congress is likely to consider billions in aid for Florida’s Gulf Coast along with other parts of the state and South Carolina that experienced flooding.
WHAT’S WRONG?: Major parts of the infrastructure are still offline. Residents of Sanibel, Pine and Captiva islands near Fort Myers are cut off from the mainland after two major bridges were severely damaged. Commercial flights from Southwest Florida International Airport are not operating until Wednesday, although airport officials said there was minimal damage to the runway and terminal buildings and the airport is open for humanitarian and military rescue operations. And on Friday a portion of I-75 south of Tampa was closed due to flooding in the Myakka River, though it later reopened.
The Army Corps of Engineers told your MT host that it was too early to “speculate on possible structures or solutions for the damage” when asked about solutions to reconnect the isolated islands to the mainland.
DUTY AHEAD IN WASHINGTON: With a major rebuilding effort ahead, Florida’s two senators urged Congress to pass a disaster relief package “at the earliest opportunity,” though the House and Senate are now scheduled to be out of Washington until after the November elections. On Sunday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was questioned about his pleas for relief in contrast to his 2012 vote against a Hurricane Sandy relief package, saying the bill was “loaded with a bunch of things that had nothing to do with anything. with disaster relief.” Rubio vowed to vote against any Hurricane Ian relief package that includes “things not related to the storm.”
“I would never put out there that we should use a disaster relief package for Florida as a way to pay for all kinds of other things that people want across the country,” Rubio said. CNN’s State of the Union.
BASHING IIJA: And expect increased levels of infrastructure law spending to enter the hurricane relief discussion. On Friday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R.C.) opposed the bill and suggested that funds to build a statewide electric vehicle charging network should be used for “real infrastructure needs” related to Hurricane Ian.
“That money would be a lot [better] used for real infrastructure needs, traditional roads and bridges, especially as we see now in Florida. It’s devastating,” Mace said on Fox Business as the hurricane made a second landfall in the US outside her district. Dozens of Republicans in Congress have voted against disaster aid packages for various reasons over the years, but the scale of Ian’s destruction, which Rubio said Sunday was a “character-changing event” is likely to require billions in funding. for long-term recovery.
Silver plating: Relatively good news: Florida’s freight rail network, ports and airports with the exception of Southwest Florida International are mostly back in operation.
KK DONECongress narrowly avoided a government shutdown before running it out of town on Friday, with the House of Representatives sending a short-term government funding bill to President Joe Biden in a close 230-201 party line vote, Caitlin Emma reports. The interim package buys time for more negotiations on a broader government spending bill, although election results will play a role in talks after November.
Disaster funds are included: Democrats criticized Republicans who voted against the package amid the devastation of Hurricane Ian because it included billions for states dealing with natural disasters across the country, although the stopgap bill did not specifically include funds for Ian recovery. The bill includes more than $12 billion for Ukraine, $1 billion in heating aid for low-income families, $20 million for the water crisis in Jackson, Miss., billions in disaster aid and more than $112 million for security of federal court.
House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa LeLauro (D-Conn.) said Congress may have to consider additional disaster aid before the end of the year, saying “we’re trying to be very responsive to the needs of Alaska, Puerto Rico, Florida.”
RUSSIA WITH BOOTS: Russia was expelled from the governing council of the International Civil Aviation Organization on Saturday, a rebuke for its invasion of the country of Ukraine and its use of Ukrainian airspace for military operations such as bombing airports that are in violation of United Nations principles for global aviation, Leonie Kijewski reports. Montreal-based ICAO regulates airspace and adopts international standards. Only 80 of the 193 members represented at ICAO voted to keep Russia on the council, six votes short of what Russia needed to stay.
NEVER BEFORE: The vote was unprecedented. IACO has not changed membership since 2004, when China joined and Russia took over from the USSR in 1991.
OOPS: As part of the ongoing JetBlue Airways-American Airlines antitrust trial, American’s chief commercial officer on Friday said the airline was forced to surrender seven gate spots at John F. Kennedy Airport in 2019 because the carrier wasn’t sure how many slots it had in airport after its 2013 merger with US Airways.
“When we put these things together, we lost track of slot numbers and slot IDs,” Raja said. “I’m a little beside myself that this happened.”
‘GOOD FOR US’: Raja also added that “consolidation has been good for us,” acknowledging that less competition between airlines has benefited the US business. The Justice Department is seeking to end the JetBlue-American partnership in New York and Boston, arguing that the partnership harms travelers and acts essentially like a merger.
JOINED OUT: United Airlines said Friday it will suspend operations at JFK Airport, ending a turnaround effort that began amid the pandemic when fewer gate slots were occupied by other airlines. United said its JFK-based employees will be relocated to nearby airports and did not rule out a return to JFK in the future.
— “Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is grounded between Irvine and San Diego for emergency track repairs.” Los Angeles Times.
— “Joby Aviation Can’t Hit Production Targets on Time, Short Sellers Report.” CNBC.
— “American Airlines flight diverts to Texas after woman screams, ‘We’re all going to die’.” Dallas Morning News.
– “With 2 MAX models at risk, Congress moves to give Boeing a break.” Seattle Times.
— “This start-up thinks it can run the Northeast Corridor better than Amtrak.” Philadelphia Inquirer.
— “The FAA has made progress on a UAS traffic management framework, but key challenges remain.” DOT Office of Inspector General.
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