A U.S.-China fight that some are welcoming

Delivered every Monday by 10 a.m., Weekly Transportation examines the latest news in transportation and infrastructure politics and policy.

Aug 22, 2022 View in browser   By Alex Daugherty PROGRAMMING NOTE: Morning Transportation won't publish from Monday, Aug. 29, to Monday, Sept. 5. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 6. With help from Oriana Pawlyk and Tanya Snyder  Quick fix — The new tax, health care and climate law could kick off a clean energy competition between the U.S. and China after years of relative inaction. — DOT considers additional rulemakings that would further expand the rights of airline passengers. — Today is the deadline for comments on federal funds that aim to build out a national electric vehicle charging network. 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. "Attention passengers/This is your captain speaking/I regret to inform you, we might encounter some turbulence/So when it happens/Put your hands up high/Like you on a roller coaster/Initiate emergency procedures/Up up up up up up"   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. Driving the Day FIGHT COMING? A clean energy arms race between the U.S. and China has been the dream of climate advocates for decades, Karl Mathiesen and Zack Colman report, and the passage of the reconciliation bill that includes billions in clean energy spending might kick off more competition. MORE THAN IT EVER WAS: The new law will pour $369 billion into clean energy and help build a domestic clean tech manufacturing sector designed to displace China as the key supplier of critical equipment for solar, wind and electric vehicle batteries. The clean energy money is more than quadruple the next-biggest U.S. green investment, the $90 billion from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. "What this does is show to the Chinese that the U.S. is actually going to be real in this game and not actually just going to talk about it, and I think that's a benefit to everyone," said Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director of international climate with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental research and advocacy group. "The planet will benefit from that healthy competition." CHANGING INCENTIVES : One of Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va's) priorities during negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was spurring the domestic production of electric vehicle batteries at the expense of China. It remains to be seen if auto manufacturers will be able to meet the law's requirements for sourcing battery components and minerals, which zero electric vehicles on sale in the U.S right now currently meet. Aviation A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE MORE OF THAT: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in a letter to airlines about poor performance this summer, said DOT may take additional steps to protect air travelers as it looks for ways to ease the raft of passenger travel disruptions over the past few months, Oriana reports. DOT is "also contemplating options for rulemaking that would further expand the rights of airline passengers who experience disruptions" beyond a series of rule proposals it's currently undertaking intended to better protect airline consumers, according to a letter Buttigieg sent carriers Aug. 18. That's on top of a series of rules DOT's proposed in recent months that are intended to better protect airline consumers. Cue up the board: Not the arrivals or departures board, but DOT is about to debut a dashboard where customers can view and compare which services and amenities different airlines offer in the event an airline cancels or delays their flight; Buttigieg said it's expected to debut over the Labor Day weekend, and urged airlines to review their customer service plans ahead of the upcoming holiday travel weekend. Automobiles AN EARFUL ON EV CHARGING: Today is the deadline for the comment period on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, which will provide $1 billion per year for the next five years to build out a national charging network. FHWA has already received well over a hundred comments, and they highlight some of the implementation issues that DOT will wrestle with in the coming months. HOW MANY CHARGERS? The Transportation Departments of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming had a slew of concerns, from the number of chargers required at each station to Buy America rules to what constitutes a "reasonable return on investment." Ford Motor Company and the Dairyland Power Cooperative also argued that the requirements for the number of chargers per station needed to be eased. The Zero Emission Transportation Association said four chargers per station is reasonable but they shouldn't all have to be fast chargers. And the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet asked DOT to extend the current Buy America waiver for EV infrastructure. YOU CAN'T DO THAT: The autonomous and electric truck company Einride wants to make sure that truck chargers aren't required to be available to the general public. TravelCenters of America supported most elements of the proposed rule but wanted to ensure transparency in third party bidding and pricing. NOT JUST CARS: People for Bikes asked for bikeshare and scootershare to be placed near chargers so people can move around while they wait for their vehicles to charge. Transportation For America wants to ensure that EV chargers are located at multifamily housing units and asked for federal guidance for EV chargers for bikes and scooters too. Shifting Gears Galen Munroe joins the National Air Traffic Controllers Association as the deputy director of public affairs. Munroe was previously the assistant director of communications for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Marli Collier is now comms manager for Airlines for America. She most recently was press secretary for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Republicans and previously worked for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va). (h/t Daniel Lippman) The Autobahn — "MTA quietly cuts bus service across NYC as 'money saving initiative,' manager says in email." New York Daily News. — "She had an AirTag in her lost luggage. It led police to a baggage handler's home." The New York Times. — "The best restaurants in America's busiest airports." Washington Post. — "Wizz Air suspends relaunch of Russia-UAE flights as criticism mounts." Reuters. — "MBTA riders suffered months of safety problems. Now they're bracing for a partial shutdown." WBUR. — "Ethiopian Airlines pilots 'overshoot runway after falling asleep.'" BBC. — "All-Black women crew operates American Airlines flight from Dallas in honor of trailblazer Bessie Coleman." CNN.   SUBSCRIBE TO 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.       Follow us on Twitter Kathryn Wolfe @kathrynwolfe Alex Daugherty @alextdaugherty Oriana Pawlyk @Oriana0214 Tanya Snyder @tsnyderdc   Follow us

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