Money train is leaving the station

Presented by Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l: Delivered every Monday by 10 a.m., Weekly Transportation examines the latest news in transportation and infrastructure politics and policy.

Dec 19, 2022 View in browser   By Alex Daugherty Presented by With help from Oriana Pawlyk and Tanya Snyder Quick fix — Congress is expected to debate a year-end spending bill this week, and there's a slew of transportation-related items currently up in the air. — The White House begins refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as gas prices fall. — Railroad union votes out president who helped negotiate a tentative contract deal. IT'S MONDAY: You're reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. Your MT host is still recovering from that absolutely bonkers World Cup final. 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 am riding high/I don't want come down/But wings don't hear me out/If I can touch the sky/I risk to fall just to know how it feels to fly." PROGRAMMING NOTE: We'll be off next week for the holidays but back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 3. A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l: Great Employers Value Their Employees. During this busy holiday travel season – with packed airports and planes full of passengers and cargo – airlines would do well to remember who helped them survive the pandemic and positioned them for a return to record profitability. Pilots and crew make flying the safest way to travel home for the holidays. Learn more.   Driving the Day MONEY WATCH: Congress heads to Washington this week as appropriators finalize a $1.7 trillion year-end spending package, ideally before the holidays. Negotiators involved in the deal, however, kept details under wraps late last week to the chagrin of some Republicans. We're expecting legislative text as soon as today, and there are a number of transportation-related priorities that could end up in the final major legislation of this Congress. BOEING'S BIG MOMENT: A big item to watch is a potential Boeing MAX certification extension, as the plane manufacturer faces a Dec. 27 deadline from Congress to install new cockpit safety equipment on its MAX 7 and 10 planes. Boeing says it won't be able to meet the deadline and is pushing for an extension in the year-end spending bill, but there's resistance from some Democrats to grant it. OTHER AVIATION MONEY : We expect that federal counterdrone authorities will get another formal extension (they were included in last week's one week continuing resolution), but the final debate about the scope and length of federal measures to fight malicious drones will likely be settled in next year's FAA reauthorization bill. There's also calls from federal employee unions to include TSA security officers on the General Schedule pay scale. And, as always, there are other provisions that could sneak in. Lawmakers are pushing for including a tourism bill and funds to expand truck parking.   A NEW POLITICO PODCAST: POLITICO Tech is an authoritative insider briefing on the politics and policy of technology. From crypto and the metaverse to cybersecurity and AI, we explore the who, what and how of policy shaping future industries. We're kicking off with a series exploring darknet marketplaces, the virtual platforms that enable actors from all corners of the online world to traffic illicit goods. As malware and cybercrime attacks become increasingly frequent, regulators and law enforcement agencies work different angles to shut these platforms down, but new, often more unassailable marketplaces pop up. SUBSCRIBE AND START LISTENING TODAY.     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. Automobiles FILL IT UP: The Biden administration will begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Ben Lefebvre reports, marking the end to the massive oil releases that were part of the White House's strategy to fight back against rising gas prices earlier this year. Total releases from the reserve this year totaled more than 211 million barrels, putting the inventories at their lowest levels since 1984. PRICES DOWN: Republicans had accused President Joe Biden of misusing the SPR for political purposes, but voters backed the measures by a clear majority, and retail gasoline prices retreated sharply as crude oil markets calmed. U.S. benchmark WTI crude futures jumped nearly $2 on the announcement and were trading at $75 per barrel early Friday afternoon. That's well below the peak above $120 a barrel earlier this year. Average gas prices on Friday dropped to $3.17 per gallon on average according to AAA, down close to $2 per gallon from their record high in June and cheaper than this time a year ago. Aviation First in MT: A group of business and tourism leaders is asking Congress to bolster preclearance operations at Toronto Pearson International Airport to decrease wait times for U.S. travelers. The Canadian airport screens millions of U.S. travelers every year, but the Global Business Travel Association and tourism leaders in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City say that average wait times for CBP screenings are nearly 60 minutes and reached 90 minutes on peak days last summer. Holiday concerns: In the letters, the organizations requested federal funds to support regular security preclearance operations, and ensure that Toronto Pearson has sufficient temporary officers and overtime funding to support travel this holiday season. "These delays in processing passengers and shorter hours of operations are causing U.S.-bound passengers to be stuck in preclearance and subsequently risk being left behind," GBTA wrote in its letter. "Beyond that, CBP's limited capacity has resulted in a capacity cap at Toronto Pearson which artificially limits U.S.-bound flights. As champions of travel, we take significant issue with this." PAY UP: The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that the maximum civil penalty for a firearms violation would be $14,950, an increase of about $1,000 from the current max penalty, as it contends with a record number of firearms being brought to security checkpoints at airports around the country. GUNS ARE A NO-NO : TSA said that it has stopped more than 6,300 firearms in 2022 as of Dec. 16, and more than 88 percent of intercepted firearms were loaded. TSA anticipates a 10 percent increase over 2021, when 5,972 firearms were intercepted in what was then a record. Firearm violations decreased during the pandemic but jumped dramatically in 2021 after travelers returned to the skies. LINE SKIPPING: Congress passed a sprawling $847 billion defense policy bill last week, H.R. 7776 (117), that most notably rescinds the Pentagon vaccine mandate and included the $18.9 billion Coast Guard Authorization Act. But it also includes a TSA pilot program that allows passengers and their bags from six international airports to skip a second security screening in the U.S. before they board a connecting flight. The language does not specify which six airports would qualify for the pilot program, which would run for up to five years. Broader bill awaits action : A standalone House bill, H.R. 4094 (117), to institute a pilot program passed by voice vote last year while the language was also included in a broader travel and tourism package considered by the Senate Commerce Committee, S. 3375 (117). The larger Senate bill, which hasn't received a vote, would establish an assistant secretary for travel and tourism in the Commerce Department and set a national tourism strategy. AIRLINES OPPOSE REFUND CHANGES : Friday marked the close of an extended comment period for DOT's proposed refund changes after airlines asked for more time, and not surprisingly, they are opposed to stricter rules on when they would need to compensate passengers for delayed or canceled flights. BLAME COVID, NOT US : The International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines around the world, said it opposes efforts to define what counts as a significant change to a passenger's itinerary. DOT is proposing a "significant change" as a departure or arrival time that's off by at least three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights. A refund would also be granted if a traveler would face a downgrade in amenities or other features, such as a smaller aircraft. IATA argued that the proposed changes are in response to an uptick of passenger complaints related to the pandemic, and the surge in dissatisfaction was due to Covid-specific rules and staffing issues. "It seems quite clear that the NPRM would not have been pursued but for the complaints received from passengers regarding airline refund policies during the COVID-19 pandemic," IATA wrote in its comments to DOT. "Pursuing regulation after the fact based on complaints about a once-in-a-lifetime travel disruption caused by government-imposed restrictions is not sound policy." A final rule on the matter from DOT is expected some time next year.   A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l:   Rail ENGINEER PRESIDENT OUT : The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's president, Dennis Pierce, announced late Friday that he will step down at the end of the year after losing an election to Edward Hall, who was critical of the union's handling of recent contract negotiations that ultimately led Congress to intervene. BLET was the largest rail union to vote in favor of the tentative agreement reached by union leaders and the freight railroads in September, though the vote was close, but rank-and-file members of four other unions voted against the deal. Pierce led BLET for 12 years.   POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023.     Shifting Gears Darby LaJoye is now VP and strategic account executive for DHS at Leidos. He previously was executive assistant administrator for security operations at the TSA and also served as acting TSA administrator. (h/t Daniel Lippman) The Autobahn — "Waymo's driverless robotaxis are now doing airport trips in Phoenix." The Verge. — "The bleisure traveler — Coming to the rescue of airlines everywhere." The Wall Street Journal. — "NYC helicopters are back, sending noise complaints soaring 678 percent." Bloomberg. — "Once you see the truth about cars, you can't unsee it." The New York Times. — "Southwest Airlines customer-service workers approve union deal." MarketWatch. — "Child workers found throughout Hyundai-Kia supply chain in Alabama." Reuters. — "Tesla plans to announce Mexico EV plant as soon as next week." Bloomberg. — "Congress and the FAA must do these things to improve air travel." Washington Examiner. — "GM unit's self-driving taxis are subject of U.S. safety investigation." The New York Times. — "CBO releases overview of GHG emissions in transportation." Eno Center for Transportation. — "The key to widespread adoption of EVs: Less range." The Wall Street Journal. A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l: Great employers can be measured by how much they value employees. Unfortunately, by that measure, some airlines are coming up short. Nowhere is this more evident than in how airlines have continued to overschedule flights — and overtax their workers.  Erratic and unrealistic scheduling practices can cause fatigue for flight crews. As airlines return to record profitability, an increased commitment to their employees must be a priority. They simply can't fly without their pilots on board. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Kathryn Wolfe @kathrynwolfe Alex Daugherty @alextdaugherty Oriana Pawlyk @Oriana0214 Tanya Snyder @tsnyderdc   Follow us

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