With help from Lauren Gardner and Heather Caygle

SENATE EYES POLICY PATCH AS CONFERENCE TALKS DRAG ON: Senators have until this evening to put the kibosh on a quick vote to send the two-week transportation policy patch off to the White House. Since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell began the “hotline” process last night (giving lawmakers a heads up that he intends to soon move the extension without a roll call vote), it’s looking likely that the patch will be cleared before the Senate gavels out this evening, unless somebody objects.

Story Continued Below

One last time? Even as lawmakers prepare to buy themselves yet another stint of leeway to finish up a their multiyear highway and transit plan, they’re letting on that this latest extension through Dec. 4 may not be the last. House T&I Chairman Bill Shuster is calling the timeline “a very ambitious schedule” and says lawmakers plan to file a conference agreement by Nov. 30, our Heather Caygle reports.

Points of divergence: Illustrating just one of the major disagreements that remain unresolved, Shuster and his Democratic counterpart are no longer on the same page about the number of years the bill should span. Heather reports that “Shuster is sticking to his guns on a six-year bill, saying the House option is his preferred length,” while Rep. Peter DeFazio “said he's leaning more toward the option supported by Senate leaders and most transportation lobbying groups: a shorter bill with more funding to go around.”

FEINBERG ASSIGNS PTC HOMEWORK: Railroads that have failed to comply with the original positive train control mandate aren’t totally off the hook this year. In fact, FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg is sending out a letter today reminding commuter and freight railroads that — by law — they’re supposed to get back to her by Jan. 27 with updated PTC plans in order to buy themselves the extra time Congress allotted in extending the deadline to the end of 2018. Our Lauren Gardner has that scoop this morning and reports that “the agency plans to enforce the new requirements ‘aggressively.’ … For example, any railroad that doesn’t submit or refile a revised plan on time could face a minimum $5,000 fine per day.”

END GOAL OVERSHADOWS SAFETY ISSUES: In the frenzy to turn a multiyear transportation plan into law, major auto safety issues are being unduly overlooked — or at least that’s the argument of those who oppose language that would allow teenagers to drive trucks, would slash NHTSA funding and would allow auto dealers to loan recalled vehicles. Heather reports that “getting the legislation this far has been no small feat for a Congress that has relied on patch after patch to fund the nation's transportation systems. But that pressure has pushed the safety portion of the bill … to the sidelines, where it has gotten insufficient scrutiny, say safety advocates. … Others say those fears are overblown, and shouldn't stand in the way of a bill that's crucial to keeping federal money flowing to the nation's resource-strapped transportation infrastructure.”

IT’S THURSDAY: Good morning and thanks for tuning into POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports.

Reach out: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes.

“My friends all drive Porsches. I must make amends.”

LANDING WITH A THUD: The Senate is now in the thick of debate on the spending bill that fills DOT accounts. And that Transportation, Housing and Urban Development proposal — or THUD — is the first in line for floor time in the lead-up to an eventual omnibus appropriations deal. Now under consideration: a substitute amendment subcommittee leaders have filed, reflecting an infusion of cash generated by last month’s bipartisan budget deal, Lauren reports. Senators who want to offer more amendments have until 1 p.m. today to get them in before the filing deadline.

The chamber has already adopted a few, including one championed by Republican Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker to make sure twin 33-foot trailers aren’t allowed on highways nationwide. The Appropriations Committee approved the controversial provision in June. And Wicker and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (plus a coalition of outside groups) have pushed ever since to strip it.

Coincidence? It’s unclear why the amendment was OK’d with little fanfare, but it’s worth noting that Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran is Wicker’s home-state colleague (h/t Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewski for that observation). American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves has panned the move and urged Congress to keep the House language endorsing the longer trailers: "It is unfortunate the Senate has chosen to give up on what could be a very beneficial change in policy.”

Quiet, you!: The Senate has also unanimously adopted an amendment to require the FAA to reach out to communities before implementing new flight patterns. A spokeswoman said the amendment, sponsored by Sen. John McCain, arose from complaints by Phoenix-area residents who say they experience more flight noise following NextGen-linked flight path changes that were made without much interaction with locals or airport officials. The amendment also would require the FAA to review decisions that have already been made and to work to mitigate the impact.

MICA DEMANDS CONNECTED-CAR DRAFT REPORT: DOT now has 10 days to hand over a draft of its overdue report on imposing safety standards for connected cars, according to orders Rep. John Mica handed down this week. As we’ve explained for Pros, the congressman is mad that the agency hasn’t minded the reporting mandate he put in MAP-21, requiring the agency to come through with the document by July of this year. Nat Beuse, NHTSA’s associate administrator for vehicle safety research, told Mica on Wednesday that the report is “still under review” and that he will try to provide Congress with a draft in short order. But that doesn’t cut it for the Mica, of course, being the stickler that he is. “You can, you will, and we’ll have it here within ten days. That’s the way we operate here,” the New York Republican insisted. “I don’t want to imply that nothing’s been done. But my job is to give certain directives to agencies. … I’m not just here to look good. I know I do. But my job is to hold their feet to the fire.”

** A message from CIT: CIT View from the Middle™ - Aviation infrastructure is at a critical juncture now that Congress passed a temporary measure to reauthorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. This video, Runways to Riches: The Importance of Aviation Infrastructure to the Global Economy, explores aviation industry issues. Watch now at bit.ly/1Lepv4x. **

CUSTOMS FEE CONCERNS RESURFACE AMID CONFERENCE: Just-seated Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady is speaking out against the same transportation bill provisions several of his House colleagues have been lamenting for weeks. The language they take issue with: an offset that uses money from U.S. Customs fees levied upon airline and cruise ship passengers. Some concerned legislators, along with aviation and travel groups, have said any hike in those fees should go toward Customs-related work, ensuring traveler processing lines are sufficiently speedy and the like.

Tell us more, Mr. Chairman: Heather caught up with Brady on Wednesday to find out just what he’s got against that customs fee offset anyway. “I want those fees reserved for trade agreements and other ways to expand economic freedom,” the Texas Republican said. “Now we’re going to work with Chairman Shuster, the speaker and others on this because we know infrastructure is so critical. But we’ve started the discussions. We want to make sure our views are known.”

No snubs: We also asked the new chairman why his vision for the tax-writing committee, which he laid out on Wednesday, failed to mention the Highway Trust Fund: “No reason whatsoever,” Brady said after a pause. “Just a highlight of sort of those key provisions. But I’m fully aware we need to find a permanent solution in how we fund our highways. These cats and dogs are just not a very reliable way to go about it.”

LISA MURKOWSKI, SELF-PROCLAIMED SPR ‘GUARDIAN’: Lauren tracked down highway conferee Sen. Lisa Murkowski this week to check in about the chief reason she’s on the transportation conference committee — that pesky (in her eyes) $9 billion offset that comes from an oil sale from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. She wouldn’t dish on the extent to which she may be trying to get that pay-for off the table while the authorization length and final price tag are still very much in flux (she’s given many a floor speech railing against members trying to use the oil stash as a piggy bank). But she did say she feels like the “guardian” who must explain to lawmakers why it doesn’t make sense to keep plying the reserve for cash. “I don’t want to see the SPR just kind of used as an unlimited draw … and that’s what I’m guarding right now as we’re talking about the transportation bill,” Murkowski said. “I want to just make sure that we don’t draw down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a level where it is no longer a reserve and it’s no longer strategic.”

GULF CARRIER FOES RAISE EYEBROW AT ESTIMATED PROFITS: MT gets an early look this morning at a new report the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies is releasing on estimated profitability of routes Gulf carriers run to and from the United States. The report by GRA Incorporated states that 19 of the 23 routes operated by Gulf carriers in 2014 “appear to have lost money” and that “more than half of these routes are estimated to have loss margins in excess of 20 percent. … These findings make their planned rapid growth in U.S. markets puzzling.” The partnership’s chief spokesperson, Jill Zuckman, argues that “without the blank checks from their governments, the Gulf carriers would be grounded.”

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):

— 450 illegal tamales from Mexico destroyed after being seized at LAX. KTLA 5.

— House passes bipartisan bill overruling CFPB on auto lending. POLITICO Pro.

— Analysts say holiday delays likely at U.S. airports as security tightens. Reuters.

— After Paris, MTA chief warns subway riders to be on the lookout. Capital New York.

— Islamic State releases picture of bomb it says downed Russian plane. The Associated Press.

— Airport workers wage strike at seven U.S. hubs. The Washington Post.

— Shuster: Rail liability cap best left to states. POLITICO Pro.

THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 2 days. DOT appropriations run out in 25 days. FAA reauthorization expires in 134 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 354 days.

** A message from CIT: CIT View from the Middle™ - Aviation infrastructure is at a critical juncture now that Congress passed only a temporary measure to reauthorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. A long-term bill must take the long view, not just extending funding and providing for smart and safe growth, but modernizing the system and rethinking oversight. This video, Runways to Riches: The Importance of Aviation Infrastructure to the Global Economy produced by CIT and Politico Focus, explores some of these aviation industry issues. Watch now at bit.ly/1Lepv4x. **