With help from Oriana Pawlyk and Tanya Snyder
— Senate Democrats passed their $700 billion party-line legislation without major changes to transportation-related items such as electric vehicle tax credits.
— Zero cars currently qualify for the newly written electric vehicle tax credit but Washington has ways of breaking its own rules.
– The White House once again extends the public health emergency Covid-19ensuring that federal measures to combat the pandemic will remain in place beyond the midterm elections.
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.
“There’s a ferry on the river/It takes me from here to you/And there’s a 15 to 45/It’s all you need to know/Two bucks ain’t too bad”
Weekend at CHUCK’S: Senate Democrats passed their signature package on climate, taxes and health care on Sunday afternoon, Marianne LeVine, Burgess Everett and Jordain Carney report, despite some last-second tweaks to fix the minimum corporate tax provisions. The bill includes billions in transportation-related spending, most notably a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles. The passage of the bill handed a long-sought victory to President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“After more than a year of hard work, the Senate is making history,” Schumer said shortly before final approval. “This bill will usher in the era of affordable clean energy in America, it’s a game changer, it’s a tipping point, and it’s long overdue.”
ALL MOTION, SLOW: In a 51-50 vote, Senate Democrats approved their party-line package after an amendment process that lasted more than 15 hours, though no amendments targeting any transportation-related spending were successful. The Senate’s passage of the bill caps more than a year of up-and-down party negotiations. And while the package is much smaller than the $3.5 trillion legislation Democrats originally envisioned, it is larger than many in the party expected just two weeks ago. The bill also includes billions to jump-start domestic production of electric vehicles and electrify the Postal Service’s fleet.
The bill now goes to the House, which will take it up on Friday.
Click here to read the full text of the reconciliation bill. The Senate lawmaker ruled that Democrats could hold provisions to address climate change and fix taxes. Most health care measures also came out unscathed, except for one pillar that would have penalized drug companies for raising prices on individuals with private health insurance.
BUREAUCRATIC JIU-JITSU: Democrats have created a tax credit for electric vehicles that not a single car on the market would qualify for. But Washington has always known how to bend its own rules, reports Tanya and your MT host. All it might take to unlock the tax credits that Democrats hope will encourage Americans to get rid of their gas is some creative definitions — a bureaucratic specialty.
BUY AMERICA, IF YOU CAN: There’s already a playbook for approaching geographic sourcing requirements: A decades-old program called “Buy America,” aimed at ensuring that road and transit projects are made from American-made materials. The requirements, especially for things like steel, which is produced more cheaply overseas, have been difficult to meet since their inception — and that’s precisely why they’re sometimes waived. For example, although Congress passed tough new rules for Buy America in last year’s massive infrastructure law, they were immediately phased out to give states and cities more time to adjust.
MORE TIME PLEASE: The Zero Emission Transportation Association is not seeking a waiver, but executive director Joe Britton said the association and its members have been on Capitol Hill asking Congress to extend compliance deadlines in the bill from 12 to 18 months.
“We want as much time as we can get,” Britton said. “My view is that any six months we can get as an extension is materially beneficial.”
WE HAVE A BLIND POCKET: Senate Commerce Committee member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Friday called on NHTSA to address the large blind spots in front of SUVs — up to 16 feet — that block children’s vision and lead in death “before”. NHTSA has established rear visibility standards, at the behest of Congress, in response to rear-end fatalities. These deaths often occur on roads and parking lots, where they are not included in annual federal traffic death statistics. Front view cameras and sensors are available, usually on expensive cars or for an additional fee.
“Security is not – and should never be – a premium feature available only to those who can afford it; should be the default,” Blumenthal said.
NOT leaving: The Biden administration is expected to extend the Covid-19 public health emergency once again, ensuring that federal measures that expand access to health coverage, vaccines and treatments remain in place beyond the midterm elections, Adam Cancryn and three people with knowledge of this issue and David Lim. The planned renewal follows wide-ranging discussions among Biden officials over the future of the emergency declaration, including some questioning whether it was time to let the designation expire.
WE ARE WAITING: Democrats on the House Transportation Committee sent OMB Director Shalanda Young urging the agency to complete its final rule on flight attendant service period limitations and leave requirements called for in the FAA Reauthorization Act 2018. The law required DOT to modify its final rule on flight attendant duty to give a flight attendant at least 10 hours of rest when working a shift of 14 hours or less.
“Nearly four years after bipartisan passage of the law, the final rule is still not complete,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Young. “This significant, prolonged delay is unacceptable and poses a continuing risk to aviation safety.”
Current rules require flight attendants to rest at least nine consecutive hours after a duty period of 14 hours or less, although in some cases the regulations allow an eight-hour rest period.
THE FERRIES OF MONEY: The FHWA announced Friday that $172.2 million in expanded formula funding for ferry service across the country, an amount that was doubled as part of the infrastructure law. The FHWA will provide the ferry program with $912 million over five years, and the money has expanded eligibility requirements to include ferry maintenance facilities and the purchase of vehicles such as buses to transport ferry passengers.
BIG WINNERS: Not surprisingly, Washington state and Alaska are the two biggest recipients of federal ferry dollars, together accounting for about $78 million in funding split among 35 states and three territories (sorry, Nebraska).
IT MAKES IT RAIN: The New York Times reports that in 2021 Amtrak’s top executives received their biggest bonuses in years, taking home six-figure payouts despite ongoing financial issues and a low number of drivers from the pandemic. Amtrak said executive bonuses were based on metrics such as ridership, customer satisfaction and financial performance. Stephen Gardner, who was named CEO of Amtrak in January, received the largest bonus at $293,000, while most of Amtrak’s management team received payouts of more than $200,000 last year. The union representing Amtrak workers was outraged by the payments.
“As members of the Transportation Workers Union put themselves at risk to keep this carrier alive during the pandemic, Amtrak
executives were busy feeding taxpayers, shamefully swallowing millions in bonus pay,” TWU President John Samuelsen. posted on Twitter in response to the New York Times report.
Harout Harry Semerdjian is now government relations officer for the Port of Long Beach. Most recently he was director of global trade and foreign investment for the LA Area Chamber of Commerce. (h/t Daniel Lippman)
— “RIP, Spirit – the most hated airline in America.” Washington Post.
— “Amtrak rewarded drivers with six-figure bonuses as rail service struggled.” New York Times.
— “California DMV accuses Tesla of falsely advertising Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features”. Los Angeles Times.
– “The next electric vehicle: E-bikes gain ground for Americans who shun gas-powered cars.” Wall Street Journal.
– “At Ford, quality is now problem 1.” Wall Street Journal.
— “What the ‘Golden Age’ of Flight Was Really Like.” CNN.
— “In court, a fight over whether those killed on Boeing jets are ‘victims of crime.’” Washington Post.
