Welcome to appropriations season

Politico

14-07-2025

With help from Pavan Acharya
QUICK FIX
— House appropriators released their fiscal 2026 spending bill for DOT, which includes a funding boost for the FAA.
— It's a busy few days on Capitol Hill when it comes to transportation issues. DOT chief Sean Duffy will be testifying before lawmakers, and three DOT administrator nominees have their confirmation hearing.
— The FAA is expected to update its request for companies' ideas on how to revamp the nation's air traffic control system. We break down the schedule.
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'Mountains rough this time of year/ Close the highway down/ They don't warn the town/ I've been fightin' second gear/ For 15 miles or so/ Tryna beat the angry snow.'
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Driving the Week
DIG IN: The House Appropriations Committee is out with its fiscal 2026 spending bill for DOT, Sam reports. You can read it here, and a summary is available here. The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee will mark up the legislation at 5 p.m. today. Your MT team is digging through the text, and will have full coverage throughout the week.
HIGHLIGHTS: The legislation includes around $22 billion in discretionary money for DOT, which is roughly $3.1 billion below fiscal 2025 levels and $4.7 billion less than the Office of Management and Budget's request, according to the committee's summary. With $83.3 billion in obligation limitation for highway and airport trust fund programs, there's approximately $105 billion in 'total budgetary resources' to 'improve the safety and efficiency of our nation's transportation system,' the summary says.
— The FAA would see a notable boost in funding, snagging about $23.3 billion — an increase of roughly $2.3 billion compared to fiscal 2025. This includes approximately $10.4 billion to 'fully fund air traffic control operations' and to allow the FAA to hire 2,500 controllers, the summary says.
THE STAKES: Lawmakers are racing to avoid a government shutdown before the Sept. 30 funding deadline — a tall order, with Congress on recess in August and limited days in session over the coming weeks. And Democrats may have little incentive to help Republicans in the Senate pass appropriations bills as the Trump administration continues its government-slashing effort, which includes a rescissions package that targets foreign aid and public broadcasting.
On The Hill
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY: Aside from the House appropriations markup, Wednesday is jam-packed with transportation-related events on Capitol Hill — all at 10 a.m. They are:
— House Transportation Committee: DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, who is also now interim administrator of NASA, will answer questions from lawmakers during an open forum about Navy Yard, including the department's fiscal 2026 budget request. Expect questions on everything from Duffy's plan to build a 'brand new' air traffic control system to how his temporary role at the space agency will impact his work at DOT.
— Senate Commerce Committee: Three DOT administrator nominees — Jonathan Morrison for NHTSA, Derek Barrs for the FMCSA and Paul Roberti for PHMSA — will testify at their confirmation hearing. Expect questions about NHTSA's oversight of Elon Musk's Tesla and autonomous driving technology, as well as traffic fatalities; trucking safety and the FMCSA's regulation of the industry; and PHMSA's pipeline safety enforcement.
— Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: The panel will hold a hearing about the upcoming surface transportation bill, which will succeed the 2021 infrastructure law. (The Biden-era package expires next fall.) EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) previously told your MT host that she wants to have text in hand by year's end. The witnesses will be: North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R), on behalf of the National Governors Association; Austin Ramirez, CEO of Husco International Inc., on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers; and Kate Gallego, mayor of Phoenix, Arizona.
BONUS: The House Homeland Security Committee's transportation and maritime security panel is hosting a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday titled: 'Surveillance, Sabotage, and Strikes: Industry Perspectives on How Drone Warfare Abroad Is Transforming Threats at Home.'
Aviation
THE RACE IS ON: The FAA is expected to release early this week a finalized version of its request for companies' ideas on how to overhaul the U.S. air traffic control system, a key priority of Duffy's. (The GOP included roughly $12.5 billion in Republicans' recent megabill as a 'down payment' for this effort.) Proposals for the project will be due Aug. 4.
SPEED IT UP: DOT said Friday that since Duffy rolled out a plan in late February to boost the nation's ranks of air traffic controllers, the FAA has expanded onsite training at its Oklahoma City academy by nearly 30 percent, with July set to see the highest number of students in the agency's history (550 by the end of the month).
MORE QUESTIONS: Indian investigators are out with their preliminary report into June's Air India Boeing 787 crash, which killed at least 260 people in the city of Ahmedabad. The initial analysis shows confusion in the cockpit just before the jet hit a building, with fuel supply to the engines being cut off soon after takeoff. In a recording, one pilot can be heard asking the other why he did this — but the latter responded that he hadn't flipped the switches.
— Investigators stressed that, at this point, they have no recommendations for either Boeing or GE Aerospace, which manufactured the engines. The probe into the incident remains ongoing, and no cause has been determined.
Rail
ICYMI: A dozen Senate Democrats are calling on the FRA to deny a petition from the rail industry that would allow most North American freight railroads to replace some track inspections conducted by humans with ones done via autonomous technology. (Unions are upset, too.) The group of lawmakers was led by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee. The Association of American Railroads, which filed the petition, has argued that the changes will allow companies to be able to detect track defects earlier.
The Autobahn
— 'At least 4 presumed dead, 11 missing after Houthi rebels sink ship in Red Sea, EU naval mission says.' AP.
— 'Ford Breaks Annual Record for Safety Recalls Within First Six Months of Year.' Wall Street Journal.
— 'How China's BYD Is Squeezing Suppliers in the EV Price War.' Wall Street Journal.
— 'Amid Air India probe, US FAA, Boeing notify fuel switch locks are safe, document, sources say.' Reuters.
— 'Boeing settles with Canadian man whose family died in 737 MAX crash.' Reuters.
— 'US senator says United, JetBlue partnership could harm competition.' Reuters.
— 'Jaguar Land Rover North America recalls about 21,000 US vehicles over torn passenger airbags.' Reuters.
— 'US safety regulator opens recall query into over 27,000 Polestar 2 vehicles.' Reuters.
— 'Stellantis Says Armed Man at Its Michigan Plant Now In Custody.' Bloomberg.
— 'Delta Strips Engines Off New Airbus Jets to Overcome US Shortage.' Bloomberg.