Capitol Agenda for the Week of March 14: The View From Jim Burnley
Ask career officials at the transportation agencies, and they’ll acknowledge staff levels are not what they were before President Trump took office. While the U.S. Senate quickly confirmed Elaine Chao for the secretary of transportation job, few details have been announced about her team.
Chao is pretty much home alone at the agency’s headquarters, leaving her in not the most ideal of situations for managing myriad policies and advancing the White House’s agenda, Jim Burnley told Transport Topics this week.
“She is understandably frustrated. Those of us who deal with the department share the frustration and concerns. And it’s true, by the way, with every Cabinet department,” said Burnley, who was secretary of transportation under President Reagan and now a partner at Venable LLP and chairman of the Eno Center for Transportation.
To remedy the situation, the administration and Congress should expedite the nomination and confirmation process, respectively, for senior picks at DOT. This includes Trump’s recent choice of Jeffrey Rosen to become the agency’s deputy secretary. Rosen, a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, was general counsel and senior policy adviser for the Office of Management and Budget, as well as general counsel at DOT. If confirmed, Rosen would oversee day-to-day operations at the department.
The confirmation process has slowed down since the 1980s due to the written requirements Senate committees say they need from nominees, Burnley explained.
“The hurdles you have to go over, the paperwork you have to fill out, the number of questions the committee sends you in writing, before and after you have a hearing, it’s just been growing like weeds,” Burnley said. “I think it does not serve the country well to have such an inefficient process.”
THE WEEK AHEAD (all times EDT and weather permitting...):
March 14, 9 a.m.: The George Washington University Law School holds a discussion on "Driverless Cars: The Legal Landscape."
March 14, noon: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration holds a meeting by teleconference of the Unified Carrier Registration Plan board of directors.
Scott Pruitt by Bloomberg News March 14, 12:30 p.m.: U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt delivers a keynote address at The National League of Cities’ legislative conference.
March 14, 2:30 p.m.: Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Continuing to Improve Truck Safety on our Nation's Highways." Witnesses include: Christopher Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; Capt. Chris Turner of the Kansas Highway Patrol; Paul Jovanis, professor emeritus at Pennsylvania State University and chairman of the Transportation Research Board Committee; and Jerry Moyes, chairman emeritus of Swift Transportation.
March 14, 3:30 p.m.: The Pew Charitable Trusts holds a discussion on "Shoring up Communities: Investing in Resilient Infrastructure." Speakers include former Charleston, South Carolina, Mayor Joseph Riley; and Laura Lightbody, project director of the Pew Flood-Prepared Communities Initiative.
March 14, 3:30 p.m.: The Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the American Public Transportation Association and the National League of Cities hold a briefing on "The Economic Returns of a National Transportation Infrastructure Initiative." Speakers include: Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.).
March 14: The American Public Transportation Association holds its 2017 Legislative Conference.
March 15, 10 a.m.: The House Highways and Transit Subcommittee holds a hearing on "FAST Act Implementation: State and Local Perspectives." Witnesses include: John Schroer, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation; and Gary Thomas, president and executive director of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
March 16, 10 a.m.: House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee holds hearing on "Department of Transportation & Department of Housing and Urban Development." Witnesses include DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel III.
March 16, 10 a.m.: House Federal Lands Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Identifying Innovative Infrastructure Ideas for the National Park Service and Forest Service.”
March 16: Trump administration unveils a fiscal 2018 budget request.
March 17, 10 a.m.: The National Press Club holds a news conference on the federal budget with G. William Hoagland, senior vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
WAYMO: Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo alleged a former top self-driving car engineer plotted to sell trade secrets and talent to Uber Technologies Inc., according to an updated lawsuit filed March 10 against the ride-sharing company.
WHITE HOUSE: Tapping private capital to fund big-ticket infrastructure continues to be an ideal funding option for the White House, press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters March 9.
JOBS: For-hire trucking added 10,600 jobs in February, while overall payrolls increased by 235,000, the Labor Department reported March 10.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist sees Trump’s infrastructure proposal as “part of his deregulatory efforts,” writes S.A Miller in The Washington Times.
Budget hawks, anti-tax conservatives support Trump’s infrastructure plan: https://t.co/BFn848wYiv pic.twitter.com/fRFFOzM5EW — S.A. Miller (@samillertimes) March 13, 2017
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“I would like to have a very rich and robust conversation about where we should be investing. It’s usually left out of the national debate because we have two senators from every state, and they have their own interests and that’s all fine. But if we’re truly trying to make an assessment of where we can get the best bang for the buck, I think we’ll see that we actually have underinvested in these major cities and metros for a long time.”
— Robert Puentes, president and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, speaking to Transport Topics on March 10.
FAVORITE VIDEO:
LeFrak CEO Richard LeFrak expands on Trump's plan to modernize the country’s infrastructure.
FAVORITE TWEET:
Former President Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau with a zinger for the current administration.
Remember that Trump prioritized tax cuts for the rich and repealing Obamacare over fixing infrastructure and creating jobs like he promised https://t.co/DLOjb5bYXj — Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) March 11, 2017
Thanks for reading Capitol Agenda! We publish Tuesdays when Congress is in session. E-mail emulero@ttnews.com with tips. Follow us @eugenemulero and @transporttopics.
