| | | | |  | | By Alex Daugherty and Taylor Miller Thomas | | | With help from Tanya Snyder
| | | — Last week's THUD funding bill included almost 2,000 projects totaling $3.7 billion in earmarks, and lawmakers with seniority were the top beneficiaries. — Airlines' on-time performance begins to improve but the airlines' own data shows that they, not the FAA, were to blame for a larger share of delayed flights so far this year. — Federal officials will honor the aviation safety advocacy efforts of Continental Flight 3407 families. IT'S MONDAY: You're reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. As always, send tips, pitches, feedback and song lyrics to adaugherty@politico.com . You can find all of us on Twitter: @alextdaugherty, @TSnyderDC and @Oriana0214 . "I ain't got a thing to prove to you/I'll eat my candy with the pork and beans/Excuse my manners if I make a scene."
| | A message from Freight Rail Works: America's freight railroads connect nearly every industry in the U.S., keeping the nation's economy globally competitive by providing strong links throughout the supply chain. Learn how advanced technology, refined operations and ongoing infrastructure investments deliver efficient, environmentally responsible and affordable transportation solutions. | | | | | | PULLED PORK: Earmarks are back, and last week's Transportation-HUD funding bill was a prime opportunity for members to steer federal funds to various projects in their districts. The bill, H.R. 8294 (117) , passed on a party-line 220-207 vote last week, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans present voting against it. Our resident data guru Taylor Miller Thomas has a breakdown of where the money went, and the key takeaway is seniority reigns, as is the case with most things in Washington.
|  Five representatives were awarded at least $30 million in earmarks in last week's FY2023 bill funding transportation. | POLITICO/Taylor Miller Thomas | TINY SLICE OF A BIG PIE: The THUD funding bill would finance almost 2,000 projects totaling $3.7 billion, a small slice of the $105 billion provided by the legislation, which is now under Senate consideration. More than half of that money went to Community Development Fund housing projects out of HUD. Of the transportation-related earmarks, highways got $1 billion, transit got $267 million and airports got $173 million. IT PAYS TO BE SENIOR: The earmarks were considered by the THUD Appropriations subcommittee, and the two top lawmakers on that panel were among the largest. THUD subcommittee Chair David Price (D-N.C.) secured the single-largest award, $8 million for replacing buses in Chapel Hill, N.C. And ranking member Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) received the largest amount of earmarks among Republicans, with a total of $35.3 million. The largest earmark recipient in terms of dollars was Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), who once boasted in his official biography that he was "not shy about bringing home earmarks" before they were originally banned in 2011. He brought back $38.3 million to his Kansas City-area district. BLUE STATE BANKING: While big states like Florida, California, New York and Illinois rank toward the top in total projects awarded, Rhode Island would receive $2.1 million in earmarked funds per 100,000 residents, the highest per-capita spending rate of any state. Washington, D.C., checked in just behind Rhode Island. Three states — North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana — did not receive any earmarks, though both senators from North Dakota and both from Montana were among 35 senators who voted to ban earmarks in March.
|  Rhode Island would receive the largest per capita share of earmark funds in the FY2023 bill funding transportation. | POLITICO/Taylor Miller Thomas | | | | | The Women Rule series brings together rising stars, accomplished professionals, and women at the pinnacle of their careers to inform, empower and connect women across diverse sectors and career levels. Attendance to our quarterly in-person POLITICO Women Rule meetings, is by invitation-only. Join our interest list and learn more here . | | | | | Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro . You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories.
| | | SUNDAY SHOW REGULAR: DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg was on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, and was asked by host Jake Tapper about the possibility of implementing screening for monkeypox symptoms at airports and train stations. Buttigieg responded that "the administration is taking this very seriously" but that each disease is different and requires a different public health response. Over the weekend, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a "global emergency," joining Covid-19 and polio as the third disease currently with the designation. "Any time you have a communicable disease, you need to follow the lead of public health experts," Buttigieg said. "Obviously [monkeypox] transmits in a very different way compared to COVID." BRINGING OUT THE LEAD: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is accusing the heads of EPA and FAA of "flatly refusing to cooperate" with the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Environment in a new letter shared with Morning Energy , Zack Colman reports. The hearing set for Thursday on the public health dangers of leaded aviation fuel comes as EPA is weighing whether to issue an endangerment finding over it, as lead has been linked to brain damage, learning and behavioral problems and increased blood pressure. Khanna's letter said EPA and FAA noted their agency chiefs were unable to testify, but still rejected the committee's request to have deputies or other senior officials appear even after the committee's offer to "change the scope of the hearing." Khanna added that it "is unconscionable that your agencies are refusing to even participate in a conversation about lead in children's blood. I would expect this of the previous administration, but not this one."
| | | | A message from Freight Rail Works:   | | | | | | FINE BY THEM: Buttigieg was also asked about calls from some lawmakers to fine airlines millions of dollars for scheduling flights they can't staff. He said "we have been acting with our enforcement powers" and noted that DOT "issued the stiffest fine in the history of the consumer protection program for an airline that wasn't providing proper refunds." Some context: Last year DOT proposed a $25.5 million fine against Air Canada for not issuing cash refunds promptly during the pandemic. But the airline ultimately negotiated a new $4.5 million fine (which was still a record), and ended up paying $2 million — the rest was considered fulfilled in already-refunded fares . And Buttigieg continued to talk about "improvements" in flight performance since Memorial Day weekend, when millions of travelers endured delayed or canceled flights that were not weather related. The airlines themselves reported to the federal government that 88,161 flights were canceled through May, a number that was topped only in 2020 amid Covid-19 cancellations. JUST 15 MORE MINUTES : According to DOT, airlines in 2022 so far were responsible for 41 percent of delays through May and late-arriving aircraft were responsible for 37 percent of delays. Congestion, bad weather and air traffic control staffing issues accounted for 17 percent of delays, a smaller share of all delays since DOT began tracking flight delay data. (Probably a reason why United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby apologized to Buttigieg after blaming FAA issues for the delays.) "You look at cancellation rates for the last couple of travel weekends, they have been around 1.5 percent, which is getting closer to normal," Buttigeig said. "It's, of course, never going to be zero with weather and things like that, but it should never be as high as it was during the Memorial Day travel weekend." For the families: A plaque honoring the aviation safety advocacy efforts of the Continental Flight 3407 families will be dedicated on Aug. 1 at FAA headquarters. Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen will lead the event, which will include family members, as well as current and former congressional, FAA, DOT and NTSB officials. Additionally, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles, the crew of the "Miracle on the Hudson," will be present to recognize the group's accomplishments.
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY . | | | | | | | | — "Average US gasoline price falls 32 cents to $4.54 per gallon." The Associated Press . — "Hyundai subsidiary has used child labor at Alabama factory." Reuters . — "Boom Supersonic unveils new design for Overture supersonic jet." CNN . — "VW board ousts CEO Herbert Diess after pivot to electric vehicles." The Wall Street Journal . — "In Detroit, the chip shortage has left the city eerily short of cars." The Washington Post . — "A Roman-era 'superhighway' is disappearing. Italy has a plan to save it." National Geographic . — "Airlines tried shifting blame, but they're the biggest cause of delays." The Washington Post . — "Amtrak delays rise with travel demand as summer season booms." The Washington Post . — "Meet the canine officers guarding American agriculture." The New York Times . — "Queues, cancellations, chaos: what has gone wrong at Heathrow?" The Guardian .
| | A message from Freight Rail Works: When the U.S. economy really needs to move, America's freight railroads are on the job 24/7. In response to current supply chain issues, we've increased capacity, hiring and coordination across our network, all to better serve our customers. In addition, we invest more than $20 billion a year into improving our infrastructure, so we can react quickly to any future challenges that may arise. That's why freight rail works. Click through to see what else we're doing to keep American industry globally competitive. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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