Boeing takes the plea

Presented by The Association of American Railroads: Delivered every Monday by 10 a.m., Weekly Transportation examines the latest news in transportation and infrastructure politics and policy.

Jul 08, 2024 View in browser   By Chris Marquette and Oriana Pawlyk Presented by  With help from Kyle Duggan QUICK FIX — Boeing will plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government, according to the details of a plea agreement released in the wee hours of Monday. — Rep. Chris Deluzio asks AG Merrick Garland to investigate Norfolk Southern over controversial vent and burn decision in East Palestine, Ohio train derailment. — Full House Appropriations Committee markup on the Transportation-HUD bill is scheduled for this week. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. We’re glad you’re here. Send tips, feedback and song lyrics to Chris at cmarquette@politico.com and Oriana at opawlyk@politico.com and follow us at, @Oriana0214 and @ChrisMarquette_. “Can we fly somewhere foreign?”   A message from The Association of American Railroads: Today’s newsletter is brought to you by America’s freight railroads. Literally. Nearly everything was on a train at some point, from the technology used to produce this content to the device you’re viewing it on. It’s why the nation’s largest freight railroads invest about $23 billion back into our privately owned network every year. Freight rail is the safest and most fuel-efficient way to move your most important stuff across the country. Learn more.   Driving the day BOEING TAKES PLEA DEAL: Boeing will plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government stemming from its role in two deadly plane crashes involving its 737 MAX jet that killed a combined 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019. The plea deal struck with the Justice Department means Boeing avoids a messy trial, but it’s still a black mark on the planemaker, which has been subject to multiple probes and intense scrutiny from the FAA since a piece of an Alaska Airlines plane blew off mid-flight in January. — Boeing confirmed that it had reached a deal in principle, "subject to the memorialization and approval of specific terms," but said little else about the deal's substance. AVOID FURTHER SHAME: DOJ gave Boeing the choice to agree to the plea deal or go to court after DOJ said the planemaker violated a 2021 agreement with DOJ that had allowed Boeing to avoid prosecution for the prior crashes. Boeing now won’t have to face down a protracted public trial that would have resulted in a flow of bad press and other potentially unflattering document productions. — While it gives Boeing some breathing room to focus on other crises within the company, it’s not likely to lessen the harsh glare from other ongoing investigations into the Alaska event, whistleblower allegations of poor production quality and alleged retaliation, and the search for a new CEO as David Calhoun is headed out by year’s end. — For its part, Boeing has maintained that it honored the terms of the 2021 plea agreement, which required Boeing to pay a $243 million fine, $1.8 billion in restitution to airlines involved in the crashes and stand up a $500 million fund for families of crash victims, along with other internal changes.   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     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. Rail DEMS WANT NORFOLK SOUTHERN DOJ PROBE: Four Democrats on the House Transportation Committee led by Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania are asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate whether Norfolk Southern and its contractors “deliberately withheld critical information” surrounding the decision to vent and burn carloads of toxic chemicals days after a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The letter, sent last week to DOJ, comes after an NTSB hearing on the accident that included the accusation that Norfolk Southern kept information from local fire officials that the board said “compromised the integrity” of the vent and burn decision. — Deluzio, who represents an area of Pennsylvania close to the wreck, has a bill that would impose higher standards — such as requirements for monitors that detect overheating wheels, enhanced safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, among other measures. Deluzio said that Norfolk Southern was being dishonest, that the vent and burn was unnecessary and that the railroad and its contractors “pursued it to expedite the process of resuming rail operations at the expense of public safety.” — DOJ did not respond to a request for comment, and Norfolk Southern declined comment on the letter. But the company has defended the decision in the past, saying it did not withhold information, and that the move "effectively avoided a potential uncontrolled explosion" that resulted in no deaths "injuries, or damage to property, and contractors took steps to manage environmental impact." Chris has more here.   A message from The Association of American Railroads:   APPROPS UPDATE APPROPRIATIONS MOVING ALONG: The House Appropriations Committee will mark up its fiscal 2025 Transportation-HUD bill Wednesday at 9 a.m., as the draft is expected to be released on Tuesday. It's the last stop before floor consideration in the House of what's sure to be mostly a messaging bill. (ICYMI, in June, the THUD subcommittee approved a bill that would cut $1.8 billion from DOT, taking a scalpel in particular to discretionary grants that the majority felt mirror money already allocated by the 2021 infrastructure law, according to the summary the panel released.) Automobiles GM FINED BIG MONEY: General Motors is set to pay just under $146 million to NHTSA and forfeit 50 million tons of greenhouse gas credits to settle allegations the company underreported carbon dioxide emissions from almost 6 million pickup trucks and SUVs, involving vehicles in model years 2012 through 2018. Some of those models are the Silverado, Yukon and Escalade. Mike Lee has the story. Infrastructure BIG GRANTS ON RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES: DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a round of funding — over $600 million — as part of the agency’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which reconnects communities that were cut off from opportunity and burdened by previous transportation infrastructure decisions. Shipping Moves STRIKE AVERTED — The BC Maritime Employers Association withdrew an industry-wide lockout notice Sunday evening that would have shuttered cargo operations by members across the province. That follows a labor board ruling against a ship and dock workers union that was poised to strike today. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 514 had issued an advanced notice over the weekend that workers would begin to strike this evening following two years of negotiations. But the BCMEA wrote to the Canada Industrial Relations Board seeking urgent intervention against the union to block the strike. The board met yesterday and ruled the strike contravened labor law, noting the union had held a strike vote with employees of only one of the employers. Rail lines are meanwhile bracing for labor disruptions. Charlotte Goldstone writes for The Loadstar that despite some of the CIRB timeline on this remaining TBD, one large shipper told her it was planning for supply chain disruptions starting around mid-July.   POLITICO AND WELT EVENT TUESDAY 7/9: Join POLITICO and WELT for a roundtable discussion on July 9 with the top defense officials in NATO countries that share a border with Russia, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These are the crucial officials tasked with armoring these front-line states against Vladimir Putin’s aggressive expansionism. We will discuss how they are adapting to this new period of danger and explore the future of the NATO alliance and their relationship with the United States. Register here.     The Autobahn — “Big River: Can the Mississippi build America again?" POLITICO. — “There’s a red-blue divide over heat protections for workers in these two states.” POLITICO. — “Your Flight Is Delayed. Would More Details Make You Feel Better?” The Wall Street Journal. — “Delta flight diverts to New York after passengers are served spoiled food." AP. — “German car industry urges EU to drop tariffs on China-made cars.” Reuters. — “EU governments hesitant on Chinese EV tariffs as trade spat escalates.” Reuters. — “Mass Transit That Can Move a Megalopolis.” Bloomberg. — “GM to Forfeit Emissions Credits in Pollution Settlement With EPA.” Bloomberg.   A message from The Association of American Railroads: You work hard to provide the essentials for your family. We are honored to do the same. America’s freight railroads transport just about everything. The device you’re using? Diapers for your kids? And the food in your dog’s bowl? All were likely on a train at some point. As a key link in the supply chain, we help move about 61 tons of goods per American every year. That’s a lot of precious cargo. To move your essentials safely, we invest about $23 billion annually to maintain and improve our infrastructure. These ongoing investments earned the highest grade for infrastructure in the last two American Society of Civil Engineers’ report cards. And it’s one of the reasons why freight rail remains the safest and most fuel-efficient way to move your most important stuff. Learn how freight rail works.     Follow us on Twitter Kathryn Wolfe @kathrynwolfe Alex Daugherty @alextdaugherty Oriana Pawlyk @Oriana0214   Follow us

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