Blumenthal weighing hold against FAA nominee

With help from Tanya Snyder

Editor’s Note: This edition of Morning Transportation is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Transportation subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. Learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, at politicopro.com.

— Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is considering placing a hold on FAA nominee Steve Dickson.

— TSA officials promised to step up the agency’s cybersecurity efforts for surface transportation during the first meeting of a new committee.

— Airports are worried about the effects of an amendment under consideration in the House NDAA regarding PFAS, a chemical used in firefighting foam.

HAPPY FRIDAY: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. If you too managed to survive the great Twitter apocalypse of July 11, 2019, get in touch with tips, feedback and song lyric suggestions at smintz.com or .

“Sign said 40 miles to Canada / My truck tore across Montana / Ian Tyson sang a lonesome lullaby / And so I cranked up the radio.”

LISTEN HERE: Follow MT’s playlist on Spotify. What better way to start your day than with songs (picked by us and readers) about roads, rails, rivers and runways?

THE LATEST ON DICKSON: Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told MT on Thursday that he’s talked to Senate leadership about a full chamber vote on Dickson, who was approved by the committee Wednesday, but not about timing.

MT asked Wicker whether he thinks it would be realistic to expect approval before the August recess. “I think we need to get leadership in place,” he said, walking into an elevator. We’ll be following the nomination closely and will have updates for you along the way.

Wait for it: Blumenthal, who has been one of the most stringent opponents of Dickson, said he is “strongly considering” putting a hold on the nominee, which would signal to Democratic leaders that he thinks they should put a priority on opposing the eventual floor vote.

737 MAX REVIEW BOARD MEMBERS MEET WITH LAWMAKERS: House Transportation Committee members met on Thursday with members of a board studying software fixes for the grounded Boeing 737 MAX, our Brianna Gurciullo reported. More than 10 lawmakers from both parties met with three members of the Technical Advisory Board, who were representing the FAA, NASA and the Air Force, according to Rep. Rick Larsen(D-Wash.), the chairman of the committee's aviation subpanel.

Larsen called it an "informal discussion" to go over how the board is scrutinizing the FAA's efforts to return the grounded 737 MAX to the skies. He said he and full committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) asked for a third-party review of any potential technical changes to the plane.

MAILBAG: Airports are worried about a Democratic amendment to the House's defense authorization bill that would require the EPA to designate PFAS — a chemical used in firefighting foam, among other uses — a hazardous substance. The American Association of Airport Executives said in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday that airports want to eventually switch to using alternative firefighting foams that don’t have PFAS but are currently required by federal law to use PFAS-containing foam.

The group argues that the proposal could lead to costly litigation and cleanup efforts at airports. “At a minimum, we urge you to alter the amendment to specifically exempt airports from any liability under [the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act] for the costs of responding to or damages resulting from the use” of PFAS, AAAE wrote.

Make sure you read Morning Energy to get the latest on the PFAS debate, which has incensed lawmakers on both sides and was highlighted by the White House in a veto threat.

TSA VOWS SURFACE FOCUS: Cybersecurity will be a major focus of TSA’s new Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee, our Stephanie Beasley reportedfor Pros on Thursday. After members of the committee pressed Administrator David Pekoske at its first meeting, he said the new group is a first step, and that the agency wants to eventually have its own cybersecurity experts and devote more resources to surface modes.

"Our concern is that surface is a small footprint within TSA compared to aviation," said Dave McCurdy, an advisory committee member and former head of the American Gas Association who said he’s primarily concerned about pipeline infrastructure but also thinks cyber threats to surface transportation in general deserve more attention.

SETTING RECORDS: Sunday, July 7, was the busiest day in TSA history, with 2,795,014 travelers screened, Stephanie also writes. Per the story, “the agency has said it expects this to be its busiest summer ever, a prediction that has raised concerns among airlines and airports worried about the impacts of TSA employees being reassigned to help Customs and Border Protection at the southern border.” TSA screened a total of 11.9 million passengers between July 3 and July 7.

COLLABORATION ACROSS THE NORTHERN BORDER: The U.S. and Canada have launched the third phase of an initiative that will allow them to track biographic data on travelers who are citizens of either country, Pro Canada’s Lauren Gardner reported Thursday. Lauren writes that “the program permits border authorities to collect basic personal data on people crossing the shared land border and share information so a recorded entry in one nation creates an exit record in the other.” CBP and Canadian authorities will also exchange travel documents and other crossing information. Previous phases have focused on third-country nationals and permanent legal residents.

OUT OF CONTROL(S) IN VEGAS: The inaccessibility of manual controls was a contributing cause in the 2017 collision between a Keolis autonomous shuttle on its first day of service and a truck backing into an alley in Las Vegas, according to an NTSB reportreleased Thursday. The shuttle had no steering wheel or pedals, and its handheld controller that could engage the horn and other limited functions was stored in an enclosed space at one end of the passenger compartment. The attendant did not have time to access it at the time of the collision, which was caused primarily by the truck driver’s failure to stop. The autonomous shuttle’s sensors detected the truck and slowed down to a full stop accordingly. Keolis company policy now states that attendants need to have the controller for the duration of a trip.

Why they did it: NTSB typically wouldn’t investigate a minor collision, but having a highly automated vehicle involved changed that decision-making. “We wanted to examine the process of introducing an autonomous shuttle onto public roads as well as the role of the operator, the vehicle manufacturer, and the city,” said Kris Poland, deputy director of the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety.

TESLA'S D.C. PRESENCE: Some interesting lobbying news you may have missed in POLITICO Influence this week: Tesla has hired a new firm, Fulcrum Public Affairs, to lobby on the Driving America Forward Act, legislation that would expand the electric vehicle tax credit. As Theodoric Meyer notes in PI, the EV manufacturer “recently parted ways with Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas less than three months after hiring the firm to lobby on the same legislation.”

Other lobbying disclosures of note: Canadian jet manufacturer Bombardier signed up Tonio Burgos & Associates Inc. to lobby on “issues relating to federal transportation funding.” The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association is working with Matt Ginsberg at TGA Associate Management Solutions on legislation and regulations affecting rail contractors and supply industry. And the Commuter Rail Coalition signed up longtime transpo lobbyist and former DOT official John Cline to lobby on appropriations and FAST Act implementation.

— “Hit by big loss, Bird seeks $300M in new funds.” The Information.

DOT appropriations run out in 80 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,541 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 449 days.

Source: Politico

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