Regional airports lobby for federal help amid service cuts

By CAITLIN OPRYSKO

06/09/2023 05:42 PM EDT

Presented by

With help from Daniel Lippman

REGIONAL AIRPORTS LOBBY FOR FEDERAL HELP: Regional airports and other community stakeholders are launching a new coalition pressing lawmakers to revamp federal programs aimed at keeping small airports afloat following service cuts by large airlines in recent years.

— Members of the alliance, called RESTORE Air Service, include Pennsylvania's Williamsport Regional Airport and the city and county governments; Maryland's Hagerstown Regional Airport, Texas’ Del Rio International Airport, the Pennsylvania College of Technology, and New York's Elmira-Corning Regional Airport.

— As part of Congress’ upcoming FAA reauthorization, the group wants lawmakers to reopen a federal subsidy program that pays airlines to connect rural locations to central hubs and provide more funding for a grant program aimed at helping small communities address air service deficiencies.

— The coalition argues that while Congress spent billions of dollars during the pandemic to keep airlines from going under, smaller airports saw service slashed or eliminated altogether. More than a dozen airports have lost all daily air service since the pandemic, according to the coalition, with even more losing at least half of their daily air service.

— "Our small and rural community airports are the main economic driver for our regions, and airports like ours are getting hit worst and first," said Richard Howell, the executive director for the Williamsport Regional Airport, which lost all daily air service when American Airlines pulled out in 2021. "Issues like the pilot shortage, mass cancellations, and just a lack of dedicated daily air service are hurting our communities and creating an economic challenge," he added.

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CHAMBER ASKS BIDEN TO INTERVENE IN PORT LABOR TALKS: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce became the latest trade group downtown to express increasing alarm over the state of contract negotiations between dockworkers and the operators of critical U.S. ports up and down the West Coast, which have seen slowdowns in recent weeks from protesting workers.

— "We urge your Administration to intervene immediately and appoint an independent mediator to help the two parties reach an agreement that prevents significant economic harm to American families and the economy," Suzanne Clark, the group's president and chief executive, wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden this morning.

— Clark pointed to the approach of peak shipping season and to shippers having already begun to divert cargo to different ports in anticipation of continued disruptions and noted that "a more widespread strike along the West Coast could cost approximately $1 billion per day," using cost estimates based on a work stoppage at the ports from 2002.

— Negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association have been ongoing since last summer, but business groups have begun to ratchet up pressure on the Biden administration to become more involved in the talks as disruptions have ramped up.

— Consumer Technology Association's Gary Shapiro urged the White House this afternoon to "provide any and all support to reach a final negotiated agreement," including potentially appointing an independent mediator, joining calls by the the National Retail Federation and National Association of Manufacturers, Retail Industry Leaders Association and others for White House intervention.

LIV ROUND UP: This week's news that former rivals LIV Golf and the PGA Tour will merge is still reverberating around Washington. One of the PGA Tour's former allies, the families of 9/11 victims, are requesting a meeting with the leadership of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund following the announcement, Hailey Fuchs and I report.

— In a letter provided to POLITICO, more than 300 spouses and children of 9/11 victims asked for the in-person gathering with Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund who will serve as the chairman of the entity resulting from the LIV-PGA merger.

— The effort marks the first time that a coalition of families of 9/11 victims has publicly requested a face-to-face meeting with the Public Investment Fund, at least since the launch of LIV Golf. It also culminates a prolonged effort by the families to protest the Saudi-backed golf tour, citing allegations of the Saudi government's role in the Sept. 11 attacks. In the letter, the families ask that the Kingdom "take responsibility for [its] participatory role in the 9/11 attacks."

— On the Hill, our Anthony Adragna writes that the planned merger "has sparked a surprise bout of bipartisan harmony on Capitol Hill: Conservatives and liberals are uniting to thrash the deal," even as some lawmakers conceded that any standing the legislative branch might have to weigh in on the deal isn't imminent.

— Meanwhile Michael Schaffer asks in POLITICO Magazine: "Is this the dumbest PR campaign in the history of the Beltway's influence industry? LIV, of course, has always denied that its goal had anything to do with Saudi Arabia's international reputation: It was always about a business opportunity, not ‘sportswashing,’ the effort to soften a country's reputation via association with a pleasant, apolitical pastime."

— "Either way, as the two sides spent big on D.C. communications pros and legal stars, the conversation inevitably morphed from golf into refrains about terrorism, national sovereignty and foreign meddling."

— "The ironic upshot: For critics of Saudi Arabia, the golf war of the last 18 months was like a surfer catching the perfect wave. All of a sudden, there was an entire industry propelling the sorts of stories they’d long struggled to highlight. … This week, the perfect wave turned into a riptide — and Saudi Arabia's critics saw the flip side of what happens when you advance a high-minded cause like human rights via a real-world business battle involving the profit motive."

TALES FROM THE SWAMP: "Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff was among the biggest political fundraisers helping launch DeSantis’ presidential campaign, an unusual instance of a highly influential taxpayer-funded aide's doubling as a top political bundler," NBC News’ Matt Dixon reports.

— "And part of the way he raised that money was by having other government officials help him solicit cash from lobbyists. The move, besides being out of the ordinary, raises ethical questions, and it shocked many of those Republican lobbyists here in Florida's capital who felt pressured to donate because they have business before the administration. It also underscores the extent to which DeSantis has used the state government to further his ambitions."

— Photos from a fundraising summit immediately following the launch of DeSantis’ campaign show his chief of staff James Uthmeier "helped raise at least $423,042 for his presidential campaign in the hours after the May 24 launch," making him one of the campaign's top fundraisers at the time.

— "Since DeSantis’ launch, Uthmeier has helped orchestrate a political fundraising program within the administration that involved asking administration officials across state government to ask lobbyists by text message to contribute money to DeSantis’ nascent presidential campaign through a specific link" associated with Uthmeier.

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— Jonas Murphy is now director of government affairs at the National Venture Capital Association. He is an alum of Sen. Bob Casey's (D-Pa.) office and also worked on Rep. Ann Kuster's (D-N.H.) 2016 reelect.

— Krister Holladay has been promoted to vice president of government relations for CMA CGM North America with an expanded role that will include continued advocacy for subsidiary company American President Lines. He is a Kay Granger and Saxby Chambliss alum.

— Stefanie Dearie is now senior counsel at TSMC. She previously was a senior lobbyist at Accenture and is a Roy Blunt alum.

— The Education Department's Office of Communications and Outreach has added Johanny Adames as press secretary for higher education and Sean Sibley as press secretary for K-12. Adames most recently was comms director and senior adviser at the Latino Victory Project. Sibley most recently was press secretary for Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

— Alexa Whaley is joining the Center for a New American Security as communications officer. She most recently was press secretary for the Millennial Action Project.

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