Featuring Kevin Robillard and Kathryn A. Wolfe

HERE WE GO AGAIN: Lawmakers are on another collision course over transportation — and now the Postal Service is part of the fight. A Friday memo (http://politico.pro/1mGVWy6) from House leadership to its Republican members outlined a strategy to press for a short-term Highway Trust Fund infusion paid for by making several changes to the USPS, including ending the six-day delivery mandate to save $10.7 billion over ten years. It’s a dicey strategy — don’t forget what happened two years ago when a move to cut transit from the HTF backfired and House members were left passing a shell bill with streamlining provisions just to get to a conference with the Senate. As if the transportation politics weren’t tricky enough, tying it to the Postal Service makes it even tougher. A bipartisan House majority (220 as of Sunday night) has signed onto a resolution (http://1.usa.gov/1n1ou7f) supporting six-day delivery. Kevin and I have much more in our Pro story: http://politico.pro/1nUL9Dm

Uh-oh: How surprising was the news of the House leaders’ decision? Bloomberg reported that it was under consideration last week, several days before the memo went out. But MT checked with a number of House members about it, and nobody seemed to believe leaders would actually settle on that as the pay-for. It seems to have caught rank-and-file committee members off-guard as well: “This is the first I’ve seen of it, but nobody has told us anything,” one aide for a T&I member told MT. “Leadership must be taking control of this whole thing, no committee member involvement.”

Senate split: Things aren’t exactly settled over in the Senate, though, where EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer refuses to consider an extension that Finance Chairman Ron Wyden and others have said is prudent as a back-up to the obviously tough task of raising the $100 billion needed for her bill. “We’re going to have to look at some other options in the short term,” Wyden said in Oregon last week, KATU reported (http://bit.ly/1okLJIL).

BACKLASH TO HOUSE PLAN — Boxer berates idea: Boxer absolutely trashed the House plan, calling it “strange” and “a jobs killer” that came from the Republicans “not planning for a shortfall we have known about for years.” She continued: “It is ‘the dog ate my homework excuse.’ It is unworkable, makes no sense, and ignores the huge infrastructure needs we face, as so many bridges and roads are in grave disrepair. If the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee can do its job and pass a bill unanimously, then surely the House can begin to do the work needed to solve this problem — and not kick the can down the road with a totally unrelated and unworkable idea.”

And so does Carper: Tom Carper, the chairman of the EPW transportation panel, also bashed what he called a “non-starter” of a proposal. “The hard truth is that moving to a five-day delivery schedule isn’t enough on its own to save the Highway Trust Fund or the U.S. Postal Service. The numbers just don’t add up,” he said.

And so does mailman’s union: National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando said the proposal “would begin dismantling the Postal Service” and “wouldn’t even work if tried.” Here’s part of a decently long and fully critical statement: “Rather than offer Americans real solutions, House Leadership is once more seeking the easy way out. America can have strong, safe highway network without sacrificing a strong Postal Service. We shouldn’t be forced to choose between the two. GOP leaders need to go back to the drawing board.”

CALLS FOR ACTION CONTINUE: AASHTO’s board of directors passed a resolution on Friday, the same day news of the House GOP plan broke, saying that Congress should act soon before the highway account runs low and payments to states are delayed. Read the text: http://politico.pro/1oLjTsY

EARLY MORNING VIEWING: Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be on C-SPAN this morning at 7:45 to talk about “infrastructure and transportation funding,” he tweeted on Sunday. http://bit.ly/1kZEOW7

GOOD MORNING. IT’S MONDAY, JUNE 2. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where on this day in 1981, “Donkey Kong” debuted in the United States and remains in gamers’ hearts to this day. (If you want to learn more, “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters” is a fun documentary about the game and two people competing for its high score.) I like tips, news, cheers and jeers: asnider@politico.com. There’s more on Twitter: @AdamKSnider and @POLITICOPro.

“What we don't know can fill a truck…” http://bit.ly/NZtDPE

EVERYTHING’S FASTER IN TEXAS: Kathryn has the story: “A Texas company hopes to create a high speed rail corridor to move passengers at speeds that would leave Amtrak’s Acela in the dust — all with private funds. Texas Central Railway, a private company working in conjunction with Japan Railway Company, wants to build a closed high speed rail corridor served by a bullet train that would get people from Dallas to Houston — the Lone Star State’s two biggest cities — in 90 minutes. The company is eyeing a 2021 date for starting service, and though the exact route isn’t yet pinned down, the company is hoping the rail line will run from downtown to downtown.” http://politico.pro/1hpI1PK

**A message from POWERJobs: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is seeking a Regional Outreach Director for the Pacific Northwest in its San Francisco office. See below or click here for details.**

THAT STINKS: A flight last week from Los Angeles to Philadelphia had to stop in Kansas City because a dog got sick and defecated in the cabin (CBS Philly: http://cbsloc.al/1gV8cgG). And to avoid a potentially stinky situation, an Air India Dreamliner returned to New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport three hours later instead of flying to Frankfurt because all four toilets were clogged (Times of India: http://bit.ly/RVALi8).

MURRAY TARGETS TRANSPO UNDERINVESTMENT: Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray has issued a report/white paper on various topics where Congress could do more work based on its two-year budget deal. There’s one on infrastructure, titled “Repairing Our Infrastructure,” that lays out the bad state of U.S. transportation infrastructure and what led up to it. “Part of the reason we currently face such enormous needs in our infrastructure systems is that, as a nation, we have been underinvesting in these areas for far too long. As a percentage of GDP, the United States is now spending less on infrastructure than at any point in the last 20 years,” it says. The 2,300-word paper also backs the administration’s corporate tax pay-for and targets “unfair loopholes that encourage multinationals to shift profits overseas to avoid paying taxes.” http://1.usa.gov/1kZeYS5

MT READS TODAY’S FEDERAL REGISTER SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO: The FHWA and FTA issue a joint notice of proposed rulemaking on “the development of metropolitan transportation plans and programs for urbanized areas, State transportation plans and programs, and the congestion management process,” making both changes mandated by MAP-21 and “adds some new provisions,” the agencies said (http://1.usa.gov/SnsUdC). There’s also a policy guidance on the same subject out today (http://1.usa.gov/RUXzOR). And DOT and the Maritime Administration announce that it’s “open season” for Marine Highway projects, with applications accepted today through Sept. 30, 2016 (http://1.usa.gov/1u6fu3H).

POLLING AMTRAK: DFM Research has done a lot of polling for the SMART Transportation Division on a number of transportation issues, including Amtrak funding and service. It found support for the rail service and a desire for more frequent trains in a number of parts of the country. The group now has a handy compilation that looks at Amtrak polls for Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, North

Dakota and West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District — a seat that just so happens to be occupied by House T&I ranking member Nick Rahall. Check it out: http://politico.pro/1nG9cIo

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- Dutch charter airline Arke gets the country’s first Dreamliner this week. NL Times: http://bit.ly/1ojVhUw

- Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz died in a small-plane crash on Saturday outside Boston; he was also a former owner of the New Jersey Nets and Devils. POLITICO: http://politi.co/1rzOJ9K

- Two takes: “How Google Got States To Legalize Driverless Cars” (AP: http://huff.to/1kZlsQR) and “The Sneaky Way Automakers Are Getting Us to Accept Self-Driving Cars” (Wired: http://wrd.cm/1jLhXsB)

- FTA gives around $167 million to the Port Authority of NY &NJ and $67 million to NJ Transit for Hurricane Sandy repairs and replacements. Release: http://1.usa.gov/1hpMS3d

- “Skateboarding Is Transportation, Too,” CityLab reminds us. http://bit.ly/1kySoLn

- Daniel D. Faoro joins AIA as VP for membership services and business development, moving over from AOPA. http://bit.ly/1gTo4jF

- New GAO report: “Public Transit: Length of Development Process, Cost Estimates, and Ridership Forecasts for Capital-Investment Grant Projects.” http://1.usa.gov/1oSOjqP

THE COUNTDOWN: MAP-21 expires and DOT funding runs out in 121 days. FAA policy is up in 486 days. The mid-term elections are in 155 days and the 2016 presidential election is in 890 days.

THE DAY AHEAD: None.

CABOOSE — The smallest plane in the world…in 1924: “Probably the smallest plane in the world. Built by Edmund Allen of Washington, D.C., who was formerly test pilot for Army Air Service during the world war. Plane is equipped with 9-horsepower motorcycle engine and weighs only 205 pounds with wingspread of 27 feet. Mr. Allen, in cockpit, flies it often and recently attained height of 1800 feet capable of making 63 mph.” Shorpy: http://bit.ly/1gUPwh4

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**A message from POWERJobs: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is seeking a Regional Outreach Director for the Pacific Northwest. This person will promote pro-Israel education and activism among progressive leaders in AIPAC’s Pacific Northwest Region, which includes Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Northern Nevada.  The National Outreach Program promotes pro-Israel activism and education among leaders of various constituencies. Click here for details.**

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