| | | | |  | | By Alex Daugherty | With help from Tanya Snyder and Oriana Pawlyk
| | | — Democrats are talking up new bridge funding after a bridge collapse in Pittsburgh, but states still have wide latitude to spend infrastructure money how they want. — Supersonic jets emit lots of carbon per person even if they use sustainable fuel,a new study says. — General Motors CEO Mary Barra is a Build Back Better cheerleader,but she also now leads a group of business leaders that opposes the bill. IT'S MONDAY: You're reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. Send tips, pitches, feedback and song lyrics to us at adaugherty@politico.com, tsnyder@politico.com and opawlyk@politico.com. You can also find us on Twitter: @alextdaugherty, @TSnyderDC and @Oriana0214. "Like a bridge over troubled water/I will lay me down/Like a bridge over troubled water/I will lay me down"
| | | DISASTER AVERTED: No one was killed or seriously injured in Friday's bridge collapse, but the news gave President Joe Biden and Democrats a major opening to highlight the infrastructure law's, H.R. 3684 (117), new $27 billion program to repair and replace crumbling bridges. By coincidence, Biden had already been scheduled to be in Pittsburgh on Friday to talk about infrastructure, and he visited the site of the bridge collapse. "The next time, we don't need headlines saying someone was killed in a bridge collapse," he said. "We're going to rebuild that bridge, along with thousands of other bridges in Pennsylvania and across the country." More money, still problems: The bridge over Pittsburgh's Frick Park had been listed as in poor condition for more than 10 years. But a lack of money isn't necessarily what kept the bridge from getting fixed, your MT host and Tanya report. Biden's signature infrastructure legislation doesn't require states to spend their share of the law's $550 billion in new federal money on the bridges that most need help; states are largely in the driver's seat.. "Simply giving states more money is no guarantee it will be spent well, including on system repair," said Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy for the Center for American Progress. "Washington needs to hold states accountable for their investment decisions." Urgency after tragedy: Nearly 15 years ago, when another bridge collapsed, Democrats found themselves in a profoundly different political moment. Minnesota Democrat Jim Oberstar, then chair of the House Transportation Committee, was on the floor shepherding another infrastructure bill on the evening of Aug. 1, 2007, when his Blackberry started pinging with alerts about a tragedy that ultimately killed 13 people. No momentum: The next morning, the committee marked up a bill to provide emergency funding to that bridge, and that bill was enacted within days. But Oberstar wanted not just to address the latest tragedy but to prevent the next one — and he was stymied. Against the advice of his staff, he started pushing for a 5-cent gas tax increase immediately after the collapse to invest in bridge repair around the country. Oberstar was convinced that it would have passed if Congress had stayed in session one more week, but it went into August recess right afterwards. By the time lawmakers returned, the urgency had dissipated and the moment had passed. Flat funding: Instead of capitalizing on the moment to increase revenues, Congress reverted to repeated flat-funding extensions. It wasn't until November 2021 that Congress managed to substantially increase infrastructure investment, including a bridge repair program that was rolled out just two weeks ago.
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| | | TOWER OF POWER: The FAA said it's reached an agreement with AT&T and Verizon to turn on more 5G wireless towers, as the agency continues to issue approvals for aircraft to safely land in new 5G deployment zones, Oriana reports . The agency said the latest arrangement was made possible because of the "precise data" the telecom companies have provided "about the exact location of wireless transmitters," and because they've "supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments." AT&T and Verizon are happy: CTIA, which represents the wireless industry, in a statement called the latest agreement a "positive development" that "highlights the considerable progress the wireless industry, aviation industry, FAA and FCC are making to ensure robust 5G service and safe flights. The next deployment of 5G services is scheduled to go live Feb. 1. Lessons for next time: Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO Eric Fanning told Lee Hudson that hopefully Congress can put rules in place to prevent another 5G debacle in the future. "There will be future technology, future [spectrum] auctions and we want it to be smoother the next round that it has been this round," he said. Fanning will testify this week before the House Transportation Committee, where 5G figures to be a major topic of discussion. SUPERSONIC FUEL ISSUES: A new study from MIT and the International Council on Clean Transportation concluded that the use of alternative jet fuels like e-kerosene in supersonic transport aircraft would still lead to an increased worsening of climate change because these faster jets burn more fuel per passenger. Context: Supersonic travel has been experiencing a renaissance recently, after United announced plans to restart air travel faster than the speed of sound by 2029. The last supersonic airliner, the Concorde, was retired in 2003. "Supersonics and clean aviation fuels mix like oil and water," notes author Dan Rutherford, ICCT's aviation director. "Supersonics shouldn't be given weaker environmental standards on the theory that exotic new fuels will clean up the mess."
| | | JEKYLL AND HYDE: Barra has been a public supporter of the Build Back Better bill, H.R. 5376 (117), particularly its expanded tax credit for union-made electric vehicles. But Barra is also the new chair of the Business Roundtable, a nonprofit association of the nation's top CEOs that has spent millions to lobby against BBB, Hailey Fuchs reports. New leader, same position: Barra's leadership doesn't mean the Business Roundtable, one of the top-spending trade associations in Washington, has changed its position on BBB. "We believe that the economy as a whole will suffer if Congress adopts the sweeping and anticompetitive tax increases included in the House-passed bill," Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said. But having an ally like Barra in a key lobbying leadership position, instead of someone fiercely opposed to BBB, is likely good news for the White House, as Democrats attempt to win support for the bill in the Senate.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: The House Transportation Committee on Friday announced that it will hold a hearing this Wed., Feb. 2, on autonomous vehicles — the first hearing since 2013 with a specific focus on AVs. "As automated vehicles become more integrated into our lives and economy, Congress must ensure they are deployed in a way that's safe — for all road users," House Transportation Chair Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) told POLITICO in an email. TARGETING CHINA: A new bipartisan bill, H.R. 6489 (117)would prevent the purchase of Chinese-made drones with grant funding from the infrastructure law. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), proposed legislation modeled after an amendment in the Senate last year that ultimately didn't end up in the final law. Chinese drones account for a majority of the U.S. civilian drone market, and lawmakers from both parties are concerned that these drones could help Beijing spy on U.S. infrastructure.
| | | — "Thousands opposed to Covid-19 rules converge on Parliament Hill." CBC. — "FAA limits Pentagon link 16 access over interference concerns." Aviation Week. — "Airlines anxiously await road warrior return to office and air." Bloomberg. — "Transportation executives reject Biden's cross border vaccine mandate: 'This is not helping.'" Fox News. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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