Capitol Agenda for the Week of July 12: Summer Bummer
Before members of Congress return to their districts at the end of this week, the influential Transportation Construction Coalition took a second to remind the chairman of the tax-writing committee in the House that not all is well with the Highway Trust Fund. That huge boost the trust fund got from 2015’s FAST Act highway law will be gone in five years, and a long-term fix is desperately needed, the coalition wrote Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) in a letter obtained by Transport Topics. The FAST Act’s new grants for infrastructure projects, while they help, do not address the funding woes to come in fiscal 2020 when the FAST Act expires. Brady has yet to indicate if his panel will tweak the trust fund as part of a broader tax reform package. To that point, the coalition told Brady to emulate his predecessors: “Previous Ways and Means Committee chairmen recognized that a tax reform package is a logical vehicle for addressing the [Highway Trust Fund’s] revenue shortfall.” If you’re a betting man, don’t expect the Republican-led Congress to act on the trust fund this year. GOP leaders ruled out raising fuel taxes, the fund’s original revenue stream, and they’re focused on the presidential contest. There’s always next year, procrastinators often say.
THE WEEK AHEAD (all times EDT):
July 12, 10 a.m.: The House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation holds a hearing titled, “Coast Guard Arctic Implementation Capabilities.” Witnesses include Adm. Charles Michel, vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
July 12, 1 p.m.: National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart delivers remarks on "NTSB Findings and Recommendations on Performance-Based Safety Regulation, Safety Management Systems, and Safety Culture."
July 12, 2:30 p.m.: The Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Subcommittee convenes a hearing titled “Intermodal and Interdependent: The FAST Act, the Economy, and Our Nation’s Transportation System.” Major Jay Thompson of the Arkansas Highway Police and president of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance will be among the witnesses.
July 13, 9 a.m.: NTSB holds a meeting to discuss the safety of transporting flammable liquids — such as crude oil and ethanol — by rail, focusing on progress in moving to a new, more robust rail tank car, the DOT-117.
July 15, 10:30 a.m.: The Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group holds a public session.
LIVEONWEB: Join Technology Editor Seth Clevenger at noon EDT on July 18 for a text-based chat on self-driving trucks.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
WAIVER: The deaf and hearing-impaired have a new career option, as a truck driver. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Office of Criminal Justice Services and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities have joined to develop procedures that allow the deaf and hearing-impaired to qualify for a waiver that allows them to train and test for a commercial driver license.
RUNK: After 44 years at the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, the last 25 as its president, Jim Runk is retiring July 20. Runk’s successor is Kevin Stewart, currently PMTA’s director of safety.
SLAM: For years, U.S. investigators have been calling for more automation on motor vehicles, such as sensors that slam on the brakes to prevent a crash. At the same time, the National Transportation Safety Board, in its probes of transportation mishaps, has warned that such devices also may have a down side: The technology can confuse operators if it’s poorly designed or leads to complacency that breeds its own hazards.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
The Natural Resources Defense Council on July 8 laid out a new plan for clean transportation.
FAVORITE QUOTE
“For the U.S. to take full advantage of the enhanced economies of scale promised by the expanded Panama Canal, we have much work of our own to do. We must expand and, in many cases, deepen our own ports and waterways, raise bridges and modernize our aging domestic maritime shore side infrastructure.”
— U.S. Maritime Administration chief Paul ‘Chip’ Jaenichen in DOT’s “Fast Lane” blog July 6. An expanded Panama Canal debuted last month.
FAVORITE VIDEO
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) promotes his aviation reform bill in a video filmed at Reagan National Airport.
FAVORITE TWEET
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is a no-go on Pokemon Go #PikachuSad
Eyes up, Poké Balls down, people.
Stay safe on the roads, don’t #PokemonGo and drive. #justdrive pic.twitter.com/0zXXNr6n1i — NHTSA (@NHTSAgov) July 8, 2016
Thanks for reading Capitol Agenda! We publish Tuesdays when Congress is in session. Follow us @transporttopics, @eugenemulero, @SethClevenger, @ericdmiller46, @neilabt and @davidelfin. Contact us at: emulero@ttnews.com.
