| | | | |  | | By Alex Daugherty and Tanya Snyder | | | With help from Oriana Pawlyk
| | — The Biden administration announces billions in rail grants as the House considers rail cuts. — A plan to cut flights in Amsterdam is drawing objections from U.S. airlines and DOT. — The FAA has a new chief of staff. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. You can reach Alex, Oriana, Tanya and Hannah at adaugherty@politico.com, opawlyk@politico.com, tsnyder@politico.com and hpinski@politico.com, respectively. Find us all on the platform formerly known as Twitter @alextdaugherty, @TSnyderDC, @oriana0214 and @HannahPinski. ”Of a Dutch and ancient line/I dedicate undying faith to this land of mine/ A prince I am, undaunted, Of Orange, ever free/To the king of Spain I've granted a lifelong loyalty.”
| | A message from Honda: Honda leads all automakers in the 2023 Cars.com American-Made Index® with 5 vehicles in the Top 10 list. The Honda Ridgeline ranks as the most American-made pickup truck, with the Honda Passport, Honda Odyssey, Acura MDX, and Acura RDX also making the Top 10. Each model was developed in America, too. Honda’s U.S. workforce has built more than 30 million cars and light trucks in America, using domestic and globally sourced parts. Learn more at https://hondainamerica.com/. | | | | | PAYIN’ IN THE NEC: President Joe Biden travels to Wilmington, Del., today to announce $16.4 billion in grants for passenger rail along the Northeast Corridor, including $9 billion in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023 funds and $7.4 billion in future commitments of the FRA’s Federal State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grant program. (That program will announce grant awards for projects outside the Northeast Corridor before the end of the year.) Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) will also attend the event. Later this week, however, the House is scheduled to vote on a bill that would cut funding for Amtrak by about $1.5 billion. The White House and Senate won’t take up the bill, H.R. 4820 (118), but it shows how divergent the two parties are on how much money should go toward rail investments. Where the money’s going: This round of grant funding awards $3.8 billion to the Gateway Hudson River Tunnel, bringing the total Biden administration commitment to the project to $11 billion. Maryland gets a $4.7 billion grant to replace the 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, whose “tight curvature and steep incline requires trains to reduce speeds to 30 mph” and makes the tunnel “the largest Northeast Corridor bottleneck between Washington and New Jersey and a single point of failure for the roughly 24,000 … passengers who rely on it daily.” The new Frederick Douglass tunnel will be able to accommodate speeds of 110 mph. You can read the full list here. You can read more about the program and how it fits in with other infrastructure law rail funding programs here. Three goals: The grants will also fund two planning studies to examine ways to improve speeds between Washington and New York and between Connecticut and Rhode Island. “There are really three sets of benefits that we're pursuing,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a call with reporters. “The first is to make sure that we are able to maintain and count on the services we’ve got and preventing disruptions and failures. The second is reducing delay minutes by having more reliability around the schedules that these trains have. And then the third … is actually being able to reduce the scheduled and routine times.” Counterpoint: Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said the grants are a diversion of tax dollars "away from the majority of the country to bloated, over-budget, blue-state projects." He added that the rail grants were "not to backfill the Gateway Program money pit.”
| | | | GET READY FOR POLITICO’S DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/14: Russia’s war on Ukraine … China’s threats to Taiwan … a war in Gaza. The U.S. is under increasing pressure to deter, defend and fight in more ways — but not everyone agrees how. Join POLITICO's 3rd Annual Defense Summit on November 14 for exclusive interviews and expert discussions on global security and the U.S.'s race to bolster alliances and stay ahead of adversaries. Explore critical topics, including international conflicts, advanced technology, spending priorities and political dynamics shaping global defense strategies. Don’t miss these timely and important discussions. REGISTER 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.
| | APPROPS UPDATE: The House on Friday voted 213-203 to approve a $25.4 billion fiscal 2024 funding bill for the EPA and Interior Department, a measure that would dramatically slash funds for the agencies and the Biden administration’s climate change priorities, Ben Lefebvre, Annie Snider and Alex Guillén report. Like other House GOP-passed funding bills, it has no chance of becoming law with the Senate and Biden opposed. The bill would also prevent EPA from allowing California or other states to mandate zero-emissions off-road engines — such as lawn mowers — an apparent response to a 2021 state law that aims to phase out gas lawn mowers. It would also require Interior to boost fossil fuel production and tamp down renewable energy projects. Democrats lambasted the cuts, saying they would result in environmental degradation. THUD ON TAP: The THUD funding bill that slashes many of the infrastructure law’s discretionary grant programs and cuts funding for Amtrak by $1.5 billion was ultimately shelved by House Republicans until this week. Some Republicans from Northeast Corridor states objected to the rail cuts, though only one, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), said explicitly he would vote against a bill on the floor with the cuts included. It's not clear right now whether there are enough GOP votes for the measure, as Democrats are likely to vote against the bill en masse. Another member who previously expressed concerns with the Amtrak cuts, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), told POLITICO she would vote in favor of the bill on the floor because it prohibits federal funding for New York City’s congestion pricing plan. Malliotakis said she would try to restore some of the Amtrak cuts in negotiations with the Senate.
| | | | A message from Honda:   | | | | | NETHERLANDS FIGHT: DOT has approved two complaints against the Dutch government and the EU over the flight cap at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, after the Netherlands' largest airport said it will allow 9,100 fewer flights on next summer's schedule in a bid to cut noise pollution. And Dutch carriers will need to file their schedules with the U.S. government in response. Mari Eccles has more. U.S airlines filed a complaint through Airlines for America, arguing that the move violates EU regulations and the U.S.-EU air transport agreement. The cap is an “unjustifiable and unreasonable discriminatory and anticompetitive practice” that “adversely affects U.S. carriers,” Airlines for America said in a statement. JetBlue Airways also lodged its own complaint against the measure, arguing that it is “uniquely” affected. The airline was told Thursday that it would have no take-off and landing slots at Schiphol next summer because it holds no “historic” summer rights, having only just started flying out of the hub in August. DOT said it would “further engage” the Dutch government and Commission during meetings on the air transport agreement on Nov. 13. READY FOR LAUNCH: The FAA on Friday announced that Ed Bolton is the agency’s new chief of staff. Like newly minted FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, Bolton’s background is in NextGen, and he was previously the assistant administrator for the program for three years. Prior to that, Bolton served in the Air Force, where he oversaw spacelift operations for nearly 20 years.
| | GM DETAILS: UAW President Shawn Fain said Saturday that Ultium Cells, a joint battery agreement between GM and LG Energy Solutions, will have it employees become part of the union’s master agreement, and that employees at GM's former Lordstown Assembly plant who worked there when it was shuttered in 2018 can apply to work at the new Ultium Cells plant, which is located at the former Lordstown site. GM’s agreement, which was announced after tentative agreements with Ford and Stellantis, also includes a cumulative 25 percent wage increase and the end of some lower-wage tiers. GM workers would also have the right to strike over plant closures. A similar provision was included in the other two tentative agreements.
| | | | JOIN US ON 11/15 FOR A TALK ON OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: As the sustainability movement heats up, so have calls for a national standard for clean fuel. Join POLITICO on Nov. 15 in Washington D.C. as we convene leading officials from the administration, key congressional committees, states and other stakeholders to explore the role of EVs, biofuels, hydrogen and other options in the clean fuel sector and how evolving consumer behaviors are influencing sustainable energy practices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | Austin Tyree is now special assistant to the acting assistant secretary for legislative affairs at Treasury. He most recently was a government affairs intern at Ford. (h/t Daniel Lippman) Drew Pusateri is now VP of corporate comms for Hims and Hers Health. He most recently was strategic communications director at the autonomous vehicle company Cruise. (h/t Daniel Lippman)
| | | | — “Electric planes, once a fantasy, start to take to the skies.” The New York Times. — “Spirit Airlines will stop flying out of Denver International Airport.” CBS Colorado. — “From bad hygiene to crying babies: Consumers rank the most annoying air passenger behaviors.” Morning Consult. — “American Airlines pilots union hit by major ransomware attack that took down website and could have resulted in sensitive data being stolen.” PYOK. — “Mortimer L. Downey III, leader in urban mass transit, dies at 87.” The Washington Post. — “There are a ton of elections Tuesday. Here are 10 to watch.” POLITICO.
| | | Nothing on our radar! Did we miss an event? Let MT know at transpocalendar@politicopro.com.
| | A message from Honda: When you think American-made, think Honda. For over 40 years, Honda has been manufacturing in America – and today has built more than 30 million cars and light trucks here, using domestic and globally sourced parts. In 2022, more than two-thirds of all U.S.-sold Honda automobiles were made in the U.S., including 100% of Acura vehicles.
With 74 U.S. facilities, including 12 manufacturing facilities, R&D centers, parts centers, marketing, sales, service, and finance operations, Honda is committed to investing in America.
Honda’s U.S. workforce of over 30,000 associates includes more than 75% in manufacturing roles. With a national workforce shortage, Honda supports workforce development activities for modern manufacturing to help associates grow their careers and to develop the next generation of Honda engineers, designers, and dreamers.
Charging into the future, Honda will continue revolutionizing its manufacturing operations and upskilling its workforce for an all-electric, American-made future. Learn more at https://hondainamerica.com/. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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