Davis, Regional Delegation Re-introduce Metro Bill
Bill enhances federal oversight, renews congressional commitment to regional transit agency

January 12, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), ranking member of the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and the entire National Capital Region delegation today renewed efforts to commit the federal government to provide funding for the Washington Metro system.

H.R. 401, the National Capital Transportation Amendments Act of 2007, would provide $1.5 billion in federal money over 10 years to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which runs the Metro system, for capital improvements and critical maintenance.

The House passed the measure, 242-120, last July, but Congress recessed before the Senate could consider it. Davis said he is optimistic about the bill s prospects this Congress:

We made tremendous progress in moving this bill forward during the 109th Congress. We need to build on that momentum to get this important legislation across the finish line this year, Davis said. "The federal government needs Metro. And for its long-term viability, Metro needs the re-investment from the federal government contained in this legislation.

You can t have a healthy National Capital Region without a healthy Metro. The transit system is essential to bringing federal government and private sector employees to work, along with moving millions of visitors from around the country and around the world. In terms of clean air, economic development and national security itself, we must act and act now to enhance this essential transportation system.

Federal investment in WMATA dates back to 1960, when President Eisenhower signed the National Capital Transportation Act, creating a National Capital Transportation Agency to develop a regional rail system for the Nation's Capital. In the past, Congress periodically infused the system with funding for construction of the original system in recognition of the federal government's unique and undeniable reliance on Metro. H.R. 401 seeks to protect the existing federal investment by funding much needed capital and maintenance costs.