I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4534 

To amend the interstate Compact governing the Washington Metropolitan 

Area Transit Authority, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2017 

Mrs. COMSTOCK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the interstate Compact governing the Washington 

Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Metro Efficiency, 

5 Transparency, Reliability, Oversight, Accountability and 

6 Reform Act’’ or the ‘‘METRO Accountability and Reform 

7 Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 For the purposes of this Act: 


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1 (1) ACADEMY.—The term ‘‘Academy’’ means 

2 the National Academy of Public Adminstration. 

3 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the House Committees on Transpor7 tation and Infrastructure, Oversight and Gov8 ernment Reform, the Judiciary, and Appropria9 tions; and 

10 (B) the Senate Committees on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation; Banking, Hous12 ing, and Urban Development; the Judiciary; 

13 and Appropriations. 

14 (3) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 

15 the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author16 ity established under article III of the compact 

17 (Public Law 89–774; 80 Stat. 1324). 

18 (4) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

19 Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan 

20 Area Transit Authority. 

21 (5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

22 means the Metro Reform Commission. 

23 (6) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘Compact’’ means 

24 the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author25 ity Compact. 


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1 (7) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means a 

2 member of the Board of Directors of the Wash3 ington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 

4 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Transportation. 

6 (9) SIGNATORY.—The term ‘‘Signatory’’ means 

7 the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Vir8 ginia, or the District of Columbia. 

9 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

10 District of Columbia. 

11 (11) WMATA.—The term ‘‘WMATA’’ means 

12 the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author13 ity. 

14 (12) WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRAN15 SIT ZONE.—The term ‘‘Washington Metropolitan 

16 Area Transit Zone’’ means the zone created by and 

17 described in section 3 of the Compact, as well as any 

18 additional area that may be added pursuant to sec19 tion 83(a) of such Compact. 

20 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress finds the following: 

22 (1) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

23 Authority is the public transit system of the Wash24 ington metropolitan area and is essential for the 

25 continued and effective performance of the functions 


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1 of the Federal Government, and for the orderly 

2 movement of people during major events and times 

3 of regional or national emergency. 

4 (2) WMATA, through Metrorail and Metrobus, 

5 serve a population of 4 million within a 1,500 

6 square-mile area. 

7 (3) Thirty-five Metrorail stations serve Federal 

8 facilities and 40 percent of Metrorail’s peak period 

9 commuters are Federal employees. 

10 (4) The governments of Virginia, Maryland, 

11 and the District of Columbia, as well as the Federal 

12 Government, have invested substantially in WMATA, 

13 which operates and maintains approximately 

14 $40,000,000,000 in physical assets. 

15 (5) In addition to regional commuters and local 

16 residents, WMATA serves millions of individuals 

17 from around the world visiting Washington for busi18 ness or tourism. 

19 (6) It is a vital interest of the Federal Govern20 ment to support WMATA and work constructively 

21 with Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Colum22 bia to ensure the long-term viability of ‘‘America’s 

23 Subway’’. 


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1 TITLE I—METRO REFORM 

2 BOARD 

3 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF PRIIA. 

4 Section 601(f) of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

5 Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–432; 126 

6 Stat. 4968) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT.—There are authorized to be appro8 priated to the Secretary of Transportation for grants 

9 under this section $150,000,000 for each fiscal year end10 ing in fiscal year 2029.’’. 

11 SEC. 102. METRO REFORM BOARD. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—At a time determined by the Sec13 retary pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary, in con14 sultation with the Signatories, and subject the criteria in 

15 section 103, shall issue language to amend the Compact 

16 to establish a Metro Reform Board and transmit such lan17 guage to the Signatories, the funding jurisdictions, and 

18 the appropriate congressional committees. The Secretary 

19 shall not release any funds authorized under section 101 

20 until the Secretary certifies that the Signatories have en21 acted such language. 

22 (b) DETERMINATION OF PROGRESS, TIMELINE FOR

23 ISSUANCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the date of enactment of 

25 this Act, the Secretary shall monitor the progress 


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1 being made by each of the Signatories with respect 

2 to making changes to improve all facets of the Au3 thority. Subject to the terms described in this sub4 section, the Secretary shall have discretionary au5 thority in terms of the date upon which the Sec6 retary issues the language described in subsection 

7 (a). 

8 (2) RANGE OF DATES.—The Secretary shall 

9 issue language not sooner than February 14, 2018, 

10 but not later than July 1, 2018. 

11 (3) CERTIFICATION.—Upon issuance of the lan12 guage described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

13 shall transmit a written explanation to the Signato14 ries and the appropriate congressional committees 

15 explaining the reasoning and justification employed 

16 to move forward at such time. 

17 SEC. 103. PROVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED BY SECRETARY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out section 102, the 

19 Secretary shall include specific criteria prescribed in this 

20 section, and shall ensure that the language meets the stat21 ed objectives in this section. 

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The Metro Reform Board shall work 

23 expeditiously to improve all facets of the Authority, includ24 ing— 


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1 (1) the short-, medium-, and long-term financial 

2 outlook; 

3 (2) general operations; 

4 (3) management and governing structure; 

5 (4) maintaining a state of good repair; 

6 (5) the pension and retirement benefits pro7 grams; 

8 (6) labor relations; and 

9 (7) culture of safety. 

10 (c) DURATION OF METRO REFORM BOARD.—The 

11 Metro Reform Board shall remain in place for not less 

12 than 3 years after the date it is established pursuant to 

13 this title. 

14 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The Metro Reform 

15 Board shall be composed of 5 Directors, of whom— 

16 (1) 1 shall be appointed by the Northern Vir17 ginia Transportation Commission, in consultation 

18 with the Governor of Virginia; 

19 (2) 1 shall be appointed by the Governor of 

20 Maryland, in consultation with the Washington Sub21 urban Transit Commission; 

22 (3) 1 shall be appointed by the Mayor of the 

23 District of Columbia, in consultation with the City 

24 Council of the District of Columbia; 


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1 (4) 1 shall be selected by the 3 other Directors 

2 of the Reform Board from a list of candidates se3 lected by the Secretary of Transportation; and 

4 (5) 1 shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

5 Transportation, and that Director shall serve as 

6 Chairperson. 

7 (e) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Directors of the Metro 

8 Reform Board, to the greatest extent practicable, shall 

9 possess demonstrable experience in engineering; finance; 

10 public sector financial management or oversight; mass 

11 transit management; planning in transit, mass transit, 

12 transportation, or land use; public safety; homeland secu13 rity; human resources; labor relations management; or as 

14 a chief executive officer, chief financial officer, or be a 

15 board member of a large capacity, publicly traded organi16 zation. Appointees may not currently hold elected political 

17 office. 

18 (f) FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION.—The Directors of the 

19 Metro Reform Board shall have a fiduciary obligation to 

20 the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 

21 (g) TERMS.—Each Director of the Reform Board 

22 shall be appointed for a term of 5 years or less if the 

23 Metro Reform Board is terminated sooner by the Signato24 ries. 


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1 (h) POWERS.—Notwithstanding any Federal law, 

2 rule, or regulation, and except as provided in this section, 

3 the Metro Reform Board shall be afforded all powers, re4 sponsibilities, and obligations of the Board, in addition to 

5 the powers, responsibilities, and obligations set forth in 

6 this section, if the powers conferred in this Act supersede 

7 any constraints placed on the Board prior to amending 

8 the Compact. 

9 (1) CONTRACTS.—The Metro Reform Board 

10 shall review all existing and pending contracts and 

11 may amend such contracts, renegotiate them, ap12 prove them, or void them. 

13 (2) LIABILITIES.—The Metro Reform Board 

14 shall have the authority to renegotiate existing liabil15 ities. 

16 (i) RESTRICTIONS.— 

17 (1) RULES; NO VETOES.—The Metro Reform 

18 Board shall adopt its own rules and procedures for 

19 meetings and conducting business, except that the 

20 Board may not adopt a rule, method, or procedure 

21 by which a minority of Directors may vote to pre22 vent action by the Board. 

23 (2) SEPARATION OF ACCOUNTS.—The Metro 

24 Reform Board shall keep separate its capital budget 

25 funds and its expense budget funds. The Board shall 


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1 not transfer funds between accounts, or use funds in 

2 one account to make payments for items which 

3 should be paid by the other account. 

4 (3) LIMITS ON ANNUAL SPENDING IN5 CREASES.—The Metro Reform Board shall adopt 

6 limits on annual spending increases relating to— 

7 (A) capital expenses; 

8 (B) nonpersonnel-related expenses within 

9 the operations account; and 

10 (C) personnel-related expenses with the op11 erations account which, beginning the next fis12 cal year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

13 shall not exceed 0 percent annual growth for 5 

14 fiscal years. 

15 (j) LABOR.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any contract entered into by 

17 the Authority and employees shall be entered into 

18 with the labor organization representing the employ19 ees and designated for the purpose of collective bar20 gaining pursuant to section 9 of the National Labor 

21 Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159). 

22 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The Authority shall not 

23 enter into such a contract if the terms of the collec24 tive bargaining agreement— 


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1 (A) provide protections for work stoppage 

2 by the employees covered by such contract; 

3 (B) provide the opportunity for overtime 

4 work that results in pay to any employee in ex5 cess of 120 percent of the annual salary or pay 

6 of that employee; 

7 (C) prevent the Authority from using con8 tracted labor or services; 

9 (D) restrict in any way the Authority from 

10 laying off, transferring, or demoting an em11 ployee; 

12 (E) provide that employee work schedules 

13 are subject to binding interest arbitration if the 

14 labor organization and the Authority are unable 

15 to agree to a work schedule; 

16 (F) restrict in any way the number of 

17 part-time employees of the Authority; or 

18 (G) provide for rates of overtime that ex19 ceed time and one-half for any reason. 

20 (k) DUTIES.— 

21 (1) CONSULTATION.—The Metro Reform Board 

22 shall fully cooperate with the National Academy of 

23 Public Administration, whose services shall be con24 tracted pursuant to this Act, to provide assistance to 

25 the Authority, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the 


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1 District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and the 

2 Secretary for the purposes of implementing this Act, 

3 and for other purposes. 

4 (2) MANAGED COMPETITION.—The Metro Re5 form Board shall undertake a full-cost accounting 

6 and analysis to determine the potential benefits as7 sociated with contracting services and functions cur8 rently provided by employees of the Authority, and 

9 shall adopt a plan to incorporate managed competi10 tion into the workforce. 

11 (3) EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS.—Employees of 

12 the Authority shall be afforded the rights and pro13 tections prescribed in title III. 

14 (4) RETIREMENT PLANS.—With respect to pen15 sion and retirement benefits plans for employees of 

16 the Authority— 

17 (A) the Authority shall honor all pension 

18 obligations for employees retired from the Au19 thority and currently receiving a pension and 

20 such pension may be modified from time to 

21 time consistent with applicable law; 

22 (B) the Authority shall, for employees who, 

23 on the date of enactment of this Act, have accu24 mulated a total of 5 years of employment with 

25 the Authority, devise a system which limits 


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1 those enrolled in the Authority’s pension plan to 

2 having not more than 100 percent of base an3 nual salary as the amount counted toward the 

4 highest salary level for purposes of calculating 

5 pension benefits; 

6 (C) the Authority may, with respect to 

7 those employees who were hired before the date 

8 of enactment of this Act but who had yet to ac9 cumulate a total of 5 years of employment with 

10 the Authority, determine a benefits plan which 

11 may include a combination of a defined benefit 

12 and a defined contribution; and 

13 (D) the Authority shall, for all employees 

14 not enrolled in the Authority’s pension system 

15 on the date of enactment of this Act, provide 

16 defined contribution retirement plans. 

17 (l) CLARIFICATION.—The provisions in this section 

18 are prescribed as minimum criteria. Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to limit— 

20 (1) the Secretary of Transportation from fur21 ther prescribing rules, regulations, guidelines, or leg22 islative text; or 

23 (2) the Signatories from enacting other provi24 sions to amend the Compact if such provisions are 


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1 consistent with this Act and the Secretary approves 

2 any such provisions prior to enactment. 

3 SEC. 104. APPROVAL. 

4 Congress shall approve of the language issued by the 

5 Secretary and enacted by the Signatories pursuant to sec6 tion 102. 

7 TITLE II—NEW WASHINGTON 

8 METROPOLITAN AREA TRAN9 SIT AUTHORITY COMPACT 

10 SEC. 201. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR CAPITAL 

11 PROJECTS FOR WASHINGTON METROPOLI12 TAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to the provisions of 

14 this section, and notwithstanding the provisions of the 

15 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 

16 (Public Law 110–432; 126 Stat. 4968), the Secretary of 

17 Transportation may make grants to the Authority, in ad18 dition to the contributions authorized under sections 3, 14, 

19 and 17 of the National Capital Transportation Act of 

20 1969 (sec. 9–1101.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), for the 

21 purpose of financing in part the capital and preventive 

22 maintenance projects included in the Capital Improvement 

23 Program approved by the Board of Directors of the Au24 thority. 


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1 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The Federal grants made pur2 suant to the authorization under this section shall be sub3 ject to the following limitations and conditions: 

4 (1) The work for which such Federal grants are 

5 authorized shall be subject to the provisions of the 

6 Compact, including any future amendments to such 

7 Compact. 

8 (2) Each such Federal grant shall be for 50 

9 percent of the net project cost of the project in10 volved, and shall be provided in cash from sources 

11 other than Federal funds or revenues from the oper12 ation of public mass transportation systems. Con13 sistent with the terms of the amendment to the 

14 Compact, or any future amendments to such Com15 pact, any funds so provided shall be solely from un16 distributed cash surpluses, replacement or deprecia17 tion funds or reserves available in cash, or new cap18 ital. 

19 (c) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS FOR MASS

20 TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL PROJECTS RECEIVING FUNDS

21 UNDER FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION LAW.—Except as 

22 specifically provided in this Act, the use of any amounts 

23 appropriated pursuant to the authorization under this sec24 tion shall be subject to the requirements applicable to cap25 ital projects for which funds are provided under chapter 


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1 53 of title 49, United States Code, except to the extent 

2 that the Secretary determines that the requirements are 

3 inconsistent with this Act, its purposes, or any subsequent 

4 rules or guidance issued pursuant to this Act. 

5 (d) AMOUNT.—There is authorized to be appro6 priated to the Secretary of Transportation for grants 

7 under this section $75,000,000 for each fiscal year 

8 through fiscal year 2029. 

9 (e) AVAILABILITY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated pur11 suant to the authorization under this section shall 

12 remain available until expended. In the event that 

13 the Secretary exercises discretion provided in section 

14 202 to withhold certain funds in any fiscal year, any 

15 remaining funds from that fiscal year shall be avail16 able in subsequent fiscal years, subject to limitations 

17 described in this subsection. 

18 (2) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.—With regard to 

19 any remaining funds described in this subsection— 

20 (A) such funds shall not be expended be21 yond fiscal year 2033; 

22 (B) not more than $200,000,000 shall be 

23 expended in any single fiscal year; 


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1 (C) in the event that the Secretary chooses 

2 to expend such funds in fiscal years 2030, 

3 2031, 2032 or 2033— 

4 (i) the total amount for any such fis5 cal year shall not exceed $150,000,000; 

6 and 

7 (ii) the Secretary shall, to the greatest 

8 extent practicable, make such funds avail9 able in a decreasing amount beginning in 

10 fiscal year 2030. 

11 (3) AUTHORITY FOR WMATA TO RETAIN

12 FUNDS.—In the event that the Authority does not 

13 spend the entire amount of funds granted by the 

14 Secretary or the Signatories pursuant to this sec15 tion, the Authority may retain up to 20 percent of 

16 the remaining funds and may spend such funds in 

17 a subsequent fiscal year. 

18 SEC. 202. NEW WMATA COMPACT. 

19 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es20 tablish a means by which the Signatories, with guidance 

21 from the Secretary, may collaborate to adopt a succeeding 

22 interstate Compact that meets the criteria and other 

23 benchmarks set forth in this Act. 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 90 days after the 

2 Metro Reform Board is established pursuant to title I, the 

3 Secretary shall establish— 

4 (1) parameters and guidelines to which the Sig5 natories shall adhere as they collaborate to adopt a 

6 succeeding interstate Compact that meets the cri7 teria and other benchmarks described in this Act; 

8 (2) language that meets the criteria described 

9 in this section and which shall be incorporated into 

10 a succeeding interstate Compact; and 

11 (3) a system of goals and metrics by which the 

12 Secretary shall be able to determine the extent to 

13 which— 

14 (A) the Authority, governed by the Metro 

15 Reform Board, is making substantial progress 

16 with regard to reaching the goals described in 

17 section 103; 

18 (B) the Signatories are making progress 

19 toward complying with this section to amend 

20 the interstate Compact; and 

21 (C) the Authority, governed by the suc22 ceeding Metro Board, is making substantial 

23 progress with regard to reaching the goals and 

24 metrics described in this section. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Once the parameters, guidelines, lan2 guage, and system described in subsection (a) are estab3 lished, the Secretary shall transmit such parameters, 

4 guidelines, language, and system to the Signatories, the 

5 appropriate congressional committees, and the Authority. 

6 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 

7 (1) CERTIFICATION.—In addition to the limita8 tions in section 201, the Secretary shall not release 

9 any funds authorized under such section unless the 

10 Secretary certifies that— 

11 (A) by using the Compact amendment 

12 process, the Signatories have replaced the 

13 Board in operation and installed a Metro Re14 form Board, pursuant to this Act; and 

15 (B) all members of the Metro Reform 

16 Commission have been appointed. 

17 (2) COMMENSURATE RELEASE OF FUNDS.—In 

18 addition to the limitations in paragraph (1) and sec19 tion 201, the Secretary shall release funds author20 ized under section 201 in a manner commensurate 

21 with the extent to which— 

22 (A) the Signatories are in compliance with 

23 subsections (b)(1) and (b)(3)(B); and 

24 (B) the Authority— 


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1 (i) governed by the Metro Reform 

2 Board, is making substantial progress with 

3 regard to reaching the goals described in 

4 section 103 and the metrics described sub5 section (b)(3)(A); or 

6 (ii) governed by the succeeding Metro 

7 Board, is making substantial progress with 

8 regarding to reaching the goals described 

9 in this section. 

10 (3) NO TRANSFERS.—Any remaining grant 

11 funds for any fiscal year shall not be transferred to 

12 other accounts within the Department of Transpor13 tation. 

14 (4) FUTURE SECRETARIES.—In the event that 

15 a successor Secretary of Transportation enters office 

16 after establishment of the system referenced in sub17 section (a), the successor may continue using such 

18 system, or may establish a new system, except that 

19 the successor shall not implement a new system 

20 without submission to, and written approval by, each 

21 of the appropriate congressional committees. 

22 (e) REPORT.—The certification referenced in sub23 section (c)(1) shall be transmitted as soon as practicable 

24 to the appropriate congressional committees, the Signato25 ries, and the Authority. The disbursement of funds shall 


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1 not take place until the Appropriations Committees of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Senate receive the re3 port. 

4 (f) ASSISTANCE WITH GOALS AND METRICS.—In ac5 cordance with section 402, the Secretary shall enter into 

6 a contract with the National Academy of Public Adminis7 tration to provide assistance to the Secretary, the Author8 ity, and the Signatories for the purposes of implementing 

9 this Act, aiding with the transition from Metro Reform 

10 Board to the succeeding the Metro Board, and for other 

11 purposes. 

12 (g) PARAMETERS AND GUIDELINES.—With respect 

13 to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), the Secretary 

14 shall ensure that the new interstate Compact will improve 

15 the outlook of— 

16 (1) general finances; 

17 (2) general operations; 

18 (3) management; 

19 (4) maintenance; 

20 (5) pensions; 

21 (6) labor relations; and 

22 (7) day-to-day safety operations. 


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1 SEC. 203. PROVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED BY SECRETARY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to section 202, the 

3 Secretary shall ensure that the succeeding interstate Com4 pact improves all aspects of the Authority, including— 

5 (1) the short-, medium-, and long-term financial 

6 outlook; 

7 (2) general operations; 

8 (3) management and governing structure; 

9 (4) maintaining a state of good repair; 

10 (5) the pension and retirement benefits pro11 grams; 

12 (6) labor relations; and 

13 (7) culture of safety. 

14 (b) SUCCEEDING WMATA BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

15 (1) MAKEUP.—The WMATA Board shall con16 sist of 9 Directors, of whom— 

17 (A) 2 shall be appointed by the Mayor of 

18 the District of Columbia; 

19 (B) 2 shall be appointed by the Governor 

20 of Maryland; 

21 (C) 1 shall be appointed by the Northern 

22 Virginia Transportation Commission; 

23 (D) 1 shall be appointed by the Governor 

24 of Virginia; 

25 (E) 2 shall be appointed by the Secretary 

26 of Transportation; and 


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1 (F) 1 shall be jointly appointed by the 

2 Governors and the Mayor, in consultation with 

3 the Northern Virginia Transportation Commis4 sion, the Washington Suburban Transit Com5 mission, and the City Council of the District of 

6 Columbia, respectively, and that Director shall 

7 serve as Chair of the Board. In the event that 

8 the Governors and the Mayor fail to jointly ap9 prove the Chair of the Board within 30 days 

10 after Congress grants consent to a succeeding 

11 interstate Compact, the Secretary of Transpor12 tation shall appoint a third individual who shall 

13 serve as Chair. 

14 (2) REMOVAL.—Directors shall only be removed 

15 from service to the Board for cause. 

16 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Board of Directors, 

17 to the greatest extent practicable, shall possess de18 monstrable experience in engineering, finance; public 

19 sector financial management or oversight; mass 

20 transit management; planning in transit, mass tran21 sit, transportation, or land use; public safety; home22 land security; human resources; labor relations man23 agement; or as a chief executive officer, chief finan24 cial officer, or be a board member of a large capacVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Dec 09, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4534.IH H4534

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1 ity, publicly traded organization. Appointed Direc2 tors may not currently hold elected political office. 

3 (4) RULES; NO JURISDICTIONAL VETO.—Except 

4 as otherwise provided in this title, the Board shall 

5 adopt its own rules and procedures for meetings and 

6 conducting business, except that the Board shall not 

7 adopt a rule, method, or procedure by which a mi8 nority of Directors may vote to prevent action by the 

9 Board. 

10 (5) COMPENSATION.—Directors of the Board 

11 shall be compensated by the Authority for their serv12 ice. The rates of compensation and reimbursement 

13 shall be established at uniform rates across appoint14 ing authorities. 

15 (6) SEPARATION OF ACCOUNTS.—The Board 

16 shall keep separate its capital budget funds and its 

17 expense budget funds. The Board shall not transfer 

18 funds between accounts or use funds in one account 

19 to make payments for items which should be paid by 

20 the other account. 

21 (c) LIMITS ON ANNUAL SPENDING INCREASES.—The 

22 Signatories shall include in any amendment to the Com23 pact limits on annual spending increases relating to— 

24 (1) capital expenses; 


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1 (2) nonpersonnel-related expenses within the 

2 operations account; and 

3 (3) personnel-related expenses within the oper4 ations account. 

5 (d) WAIVER.—In the event that the Authority identi6 fies a critical need which requires the Authority to exceed 

7 the limits on the annual spending growth rates established 

8 pursuant to subsection (c), the Authority may seek a waiv9 er by submitting an appeal, in writing, to the legislative 

10 bodies of the Signatories and the executive of the jurisdic11 tion of each Signatory justifying the need to exceed the 

12 limits and the legislative bodies may vote to approve such 

13 appeal. A waiver shall only be granted upon approval by 

14 each of the legislative bodies of the Signatories and the 

15 executives thereof. The terms of such a waiver shall not 

16 exceed 2 years. 

17 (e) LIMIT ON ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM FUND18 ING JURISDICTIONS FOR OPERATIONS.—The Signatories 

19 shall include an any amendment to the Compact a limit 

20 of 3 percent relating to the annual growth in the rate of 

21 spending by the funding jurisdictions to subsidize oper22 ational needs of the Authority. 

23 (f) LABOR PROVISIONS.— 

24 (1) ARBITRATION.—In case of any dispute over 

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1 ployees where collective bargaining does not result in 

2 agreement, the Authority shall submit such dispute 

3 to the National Mediation Board. 

4 (2) MANAGED COMPETITION.—The Board shall 

5 undertake a full-cost accounting and analysis to de6 termine the potential benefits associated with con7 tracting services and functions currently provided by 

8 employees of the Authority and shall incorporate a 

9 system of managed competition for labor and service 

10 contracts. 

11 (3) EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS.—Employees of 

12 the Authority shall be afforded the rights and pro13 tections prescribed in title III of this Act. 

14 (g) RETIREMENT PLANS.—With respect to pension 

15 and retirement benefits plans for employees of the Author16 ity— 

17 (1) the Authority shall honor all pension obliga18 tions for employees retired from the Authority and 

19 currently receiving a pension; 

20 (2) the Authority shall, for employees who, on 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, have accumulated 

22 a total of 5 years of employment with the Authority, 

23 devise a system which limits those enrolled in the 

24 Authority’s pension plan to having not more than 

25 100 percent of base annual salary as the amount 


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1 counted toward the highest salary level for purposes 

2 of calculating pension benefits; 

3 (3) the Authority may, with respect to those 

4 employees who were hired before the date of enact5 ment of this Act but who had yet to accumulate a 

6 total of 5 years of employment with the Authority, 

7 determine a benefits plan which may include a com8 bination of a defined benefit and a defined contribu9 tion; and 

10 (4) the Authority shall, for all employees not 

11 enrolled in the Authority’s pension system on the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, provide defined con13 tribution retirement plans. 

14 (h) GENERAL EFFICIENCY AND FINANCIAL TRANS15 PARENCY.—The Authority shall procure and utilize a com16 mercially available product with which the Treasurer and 

17 other appropriate officers and staff shall manage the 

18 budget, finances, and other aspects of the Authority. The 

19 product chosen shall enable the Authority to provide open 

20 data, analytics, financial transparency, and reporting 

21 tools, among other things, and shall enable the public to 

22 review the finances of the Authority in real-time. 

23 (i) TRANSPARENT CONTRACT APPROVAL.—The 

24 Board shall provide for online publication of notice of pro25 curements and other actions designed to secure competiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Dec 09, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4534.IH H4534

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1 tion where competitive procedures are used, and shall em2 ploy innovative contracting practices when warranted or 

3 justified. The Board shall adopt policies and procedures 

4 to comply with this subsection. 

5 (j) CLARIFICATION.—The provisions in this section 

6 are prescribed as minimum criteria which must be in7 cluded in any amendment to the Compact. Nothing in this 

8 section shall be construed to limit— 

9 (1) the Secretary from further prescribing 

10 rules, regulations, guidelines, or legislative text 

11 which shall be included in any amendment to the 

12 Compact; or 

13 (2) the Signatories from including other provi14 sions to amend the Compact; if such provisions are 

15 consistent with this Act; and the Secretary approves 

16 of any such provisions prior to enactment. 

17 TITLE III—EMPLOYEE 

18 PROTECTIONS 

19 SEC. 301. WMATA EMPLOYEE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC20 TION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority, a contractor or a 

22 subcontractor of the Authority, or an officer or employee 

23 of the Authority, shall not discharge, demote, suspend, 

24 reprimand, or in any other way discriminate against an 

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1 ployment if such discrimination is due, in whole or in part, 

2 to the employee’s lawful, good faith act done, or perceived 

3 by the employer to have been done or about to be done— 

4 (1) to provide information, directly cause infor5 mation to be provided, or otherwise directly assist in 

6 any investigation regarding any conduct which the 

7 employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation 

8 of any Federal law or regulation or provision adopt9 ed by an authority created by an interstate Compact 

10 relating to public transportation safety or security, 

11 or fraud, waste, or abuse of Federal grants or other 

12 public funds intended to be used for public transpor13 tation safety or security, if the information or assist14 ance is provided to or an investigation stemming 

15 from the provided information is conducted by— 

16 (A) a Federal, State, or local regulatory or 

17 law enforcement agency, or a regulatory or law 

18 enforcement agency created by an interstate 

19 Compact (including an office of the Inspector 

20 General under the Inspector General Act of 

21 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.; Public Law 95–452)); 

22 (B) any Member of Congress, any com23 mittee of Congress, or the Government Ac24 countability Office; or 


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1 (C) a person with supervisory authority 

2 over the employee or such other person who has 

3 the authority to investigate, discover, or termi4 nate the misconduct; 

5 (2) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 

6 of any Federal law, rule, or regulation relating to 

7 public transportation safety or security; 

8 (3) to file a complaint or directly cause to be 

9 brought a proceeding related to the enforcement of 

10 this section or to testify in that proceeding; 

11 (4) to notify, or attempt to notify, the Author12 ity, the inspector general, or the Secretary of Trans13 portation of a work-related personal injury or work14 related illness of an employee; 

15 (5) to accurately report hours on duty pursuant 

16 to chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code; 

17 (6) to cooperate with a safety or security inves18 tigation by the Secretary of Transportation, the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security, or the National Trans20 portation Safety Board; or 

21 (7) to furnish information to the Secretary of 

22 Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

23 the National Transportation Safety Board, or any 

24 Federal, State, or local regulatory or law enforce25 ment agency, or a regulatory or law enforcement 


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1 agency created by an interstate Compact, as to the 

2 facts relating to any accident or incident resulting in 

3 injury or death to an individual or damage to prop4 erty occurring in connection with public transpor5 tation. 

6 (b) PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION.— 

7 (1) PROHIBITION.—The Authority or person 

8 covered under this section may not deny, delay, or 

9 interfere with the medical or first aid treatment of 

10 an employee who is injured during the course of em11 ployment. If transportation to a hospital is requested 

12 by an employee who is injured during the course of 

13 employment, the Authority shall promptly arrange to 

14 have the injured employee transported to the nearest 

15 hospital where the employee can receive safe and ap16 propriate medical care. 

17 (2) DISCIPLINE.—The Authority or person cov18 ered under this section may not discipline, or threat19 en discipline to, an employee for requesting medical 

20 or first aid treatment, or for following orders or a 

21 treatment plan of a treating physician, except that 

22 the Authority’s refusal to permit an employee to re23 turn to work following medical treatment shall not 

24 be considered a violation of this section if the refusal 

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1 ical standards for fitness of duty or, if there are no 

2 pertinent Federal Railroad Administration stand3 ards, the Authority’s medical standards for fitness 

4 for duty. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 

5 ‘‘discipline’’ means to bring charges against a person 

6 in a disciplinary proceeding, suspend, terminate, 

7 place on probation, or make note of reprimand on an 

8 employee’s record. 

9 (c) HAZARDOUS SAFETY OR SECURITY CONDI10 TIONS.— 

11 (1) The authority, or a contractor or a subcon12 tractor of such authority, or an officer or employee 

13 of such authority, shall not discharge, demote, sus14 pend, reprimand, or in any other way discriminate 

15 against an employee for— 

16 (A) reporting, in good faith, a hazardous 

17 safety or security condition; 

18 (B) refusing to work when confronted by a 

19 hazardous safety or security condition related to 

20 the performance of the employee’s duties, if the 

21 conditions described in paragraph (2) exist; or 

22 (C) refusing to authorize the use of any 

23 safety- or security-related equipment, track, or 

24 structures, if the employee is responsible for the 

25 inspection or repair of the equipment, track, or 


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1 structures, when the employee believes that the 

2 equipment, track, or structures are in a haz3 ardous safety or security condition, if the condi4 tions described in paragraph (2) of this sub5 section exist. 

6 (2) A refusal by an employee is protected under 

7 paragraph (1)(B) and (C) if— 

8 (A) the refusal is made in good faith and 

9 no reasonable alternative to the refusal is avail10 able to the employee; 

11 (B) a reasonable individual in the cir12 cumstances then confronting the employee 

13 would conclude that— 

14 (i) the hazardous condition presents 

15 an imminent danger of death or serious in16 jury; and 

17 (ii) the urgency of the situation does 

18 not allow sufficient time to eliminate the 

19 danger without such refusal; and 

20 (C) the employee, where possible, has noti21 fied the authority of the existence of the haz22 ardous condition and the intention not to per23 form further work, or not to authorize the use 

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1 diately or the equipment, track, or structures 

2 are repaired properly or replaced. 

3 (3) In this subsection, only subsection (c)(1)(A) 

4 shall apply to security personnel, including transit 

5 police, employed or utilized by the authority to pro6 tect riders, equipment, assets, or facilities. 

7 (d) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

8 (1) FILING AND NOTIFICATION.—A person who 

9 believes that he or she has been discharged or other10 wise discriminated against by any person in violation 

11 of subsection (a), (b), or (c) may, not later than 180 

12 days after the date on which such violation occurs, 

13 file (or have any person file on his or her behalf) a 

14 complaint with the Secretary of Labor alleging such 

15 discharge or discrimination. Upon receipt of a com16 plaint filed under this paragraph, the Secretary of 

17 Labor shall notify, in writing, the person named in 

18 the complaint and the person’s employer of the filing 

19 of the complaint, of the allegations contained in the 

20 complaint, of the substance of evidence supporting 

21 the complaint, and of the opportunities that will be 

22 afforded to such person under paragraph (2). 

23 (2) INVESTIGATION; PRELIMINARY ORDER.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

25 after the date of receipt of a complaint filed 


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1 under paragraph (1) and after affording the 

2 person named in the complaint an opportunity 

3 to submit to the Secretary of Labor a written 

4 response to the complaint and an opportunity to 

5 meet with a representative of the Secretary of 

6 Labor to present statements from witnesses, the 

7 Secretary of Labor shall conduct an investiga8 tion and determine whether there is reasonable 

9 cause to believe that the complaint has merit 

10 and notify, in writing, the complainant and the 

11 person alleged to have committed a violation of 

12 subsection (a), (b), or (c) of the Secretary of 

13 Labor’s findings. If the Secretary of Labor con14 cludes that there is a reasonable cause to be15 lieve that a violation of subsection (a), (b), or 

16 (c) has occurred, the Secretary of Labor shall 

17 accompany the Secretary of Labor’s findings 

18 with a preliminary order providing the relief 

19 prescribed by paragraph (3)(B). Not later than 

20 30 days after the date of notification of find21 ings under this paragraph, either the person al22 leged to have committed the violation or the 

23 complainant may file objections to the findings 

24 or preliminary order, or both, and request a 

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1 tions shall not operate to stay any reinstate2 ment remedy contained in the preliminary 

3 order. Such hearings shall be conducted expedi4 tiously. If a hearing is not requested in such 

5 30-day period, the preliminary order shall be 

6 deemed a final order that is not subject to judi7 cial review. 

8 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (i) REQUIRED SHOWING BY COM10 PLAINANT.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

11 dismiss a complaint filed under this sub12 section and shall not conduct an investiga13 tion otherwise required under subpara14 graph (A) unless the complainant makes a 

15 prima facie showing that any behavior de16 scribed in subsection (a), (b), or (c) was a 

17 contributing factor in the unfavorable per18 sonnel action alleged in the complaint. 

19 (ii) SHOWING BY EMPLOYER.—Not20 withstanding a finding by the Secretary of 

21 Labor that the complainant has made the 

22 showing required under clause (i), no in23 vestigation otherwise required under sub24 paragraph (A) shall be conducted if the 

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1 vincing evidence, that the employer would 

2 have taken the same unfavorable personnel 

3 action in the absence of that behavior. 

4 (iii) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION

5 BY SECRETARY OF LABOR.—The Secretary 

6 of Labor may determine that a violation of 

7 subsection (a), (b), or (c) has occurred 

8 only if the complainant demonstrates that 

9 any behavior described in subsection (a), 

10 (b), or (c) was a contributing factor in the 

11 unfavorable personnel action alleged in the 

12 complaint. 

13 (iv) PROHIBITION.—Relief may not be 

14 ordered under subparagraph (A) if the em15 ployer demonstrates by clear and con16 vincing evidence that the employer would 

17 have taken the same unfavorable personnel 

18 action in the absence of that behavior. 

19 (3) FINAL ORDER.— 

20 (A) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE; SETTLE21 MENT AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 120 days 

22 after the date of conclusion of a hearing under 

23 paragraph (2), the Secretary of Labor shall 

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1 plaint. At any time before issuance of a final 

2 order, a proceeding under this subsection may 

3 be terminated on the basis of a settlement 

4 agreement entered into by the Secretary of 

5 Labor, the complainant, and the person alleged 

6 to have committed the violation. 

7 (B) REMEDY.—If, in response to a com8 plaint filed under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

9 of Labor determines that a violation of sub10 section (a), (b), or (c) has occurred, the Sec11 retary of Labor shall order the person who com12 mitted such violation to— 

13 (i) take affirmative action to abate the 

14 violation; and 

15 (ii) provide the remedies described in 

16 subsection (e). 

17 (C) ORDER.—If an order is issued under 

18 subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Labor, at 

19 the request of the complainant, shall assess 

20 against the person against whom the order is 

21 issued a sum equal to the aggregate amount of 

22 all costs and expenses (including attorney’s and 

23 expert witness fees) reasonably incurred, as de24 termined by the Secretary of Labor, by the 


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1 complainant for, or in connection with, bringing 

2 the complaint upon which the order was issued. 

3 (D) FRIVOLOUS COMPLAINTS.—If the Sec4 retary of Labor finds that a complaint under 

5 paragraph (1) is frivolous or has been brought 

6 in bad faith, the Secretary of Labor may award 

7 to the prevailing employer reasonable attorney’s 

8 fees not exceeding $1,000. 

9 (4) REVIEW.— 

10 (A) APPEAL TO COURT OF APPEALS.—Any 

11 person adversely affected or aggrieved by an 

12 order issued under paragraph (3) may obtain 

13 review of the order in the United States Court 

14 of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 

15 The petition for review must be filed not later 

16 than 60 days after the date of the issuance of 

17 the final order of the Secretary of Labor. Re18 view shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5, 

19 United States Code. The commencement of pro20 ceedings under this subparagraph shall not, un21 less ordered by the court, operate as a stay of 

22 the order. 

23 (B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT24 TACK.—An order of the Secretary of Labor 

25 with respect to which review could have been 


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1 obtained under subparagraph (A) shall not be 

2 subject to judicial review in any criminal or 

3 other civil proceeding. 

4 (5) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY SECRETARY

5 OF LABOR.—Whenever any person has failed to com6 ply with an order issued under paragraph (3), the 

7 Secretary of Labor may file a civil action in the 

8 United States district court for the district in which 

9 the violation was found to occur to enforce such 

10 order. In actions brought under this paragraph, the 

11 district courts shall have jurisdiction to grant all ap12 propriate relief including, but not limited to, injunc13 tive relief and compensatory damages. 

14 (6) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY PARTIES.— 

15 (A) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—A per16 son on whose behalf an order was issued under 

17 paragraph (3) may commence a civil action 

18 against the person to whom such order was 

19 issued to require compliance with such order. 

20 The appropriate United States district court 

21 shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the 

22 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the 

23 parties, to enforce such order. 

24 (B) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—The court, in 

25 issuing any final order under this paragraph, 


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1 may award costs of litigation (including reason2 able attorney’s and expert witness fees) to any 

3 party whenever the court determines such 

4 award is appropriate. 

5 (7) DE NOVO REVIEW.—With respect to a com6 plaint under paragraph (1), if the Secretary of 

7 Labor has not issued a final decision not later than 

8 210 days after the filing of the complaint and if the 

9 delay is not due to the bad faith of the employee, 

10 the employee may bring an original action at law or 

11 equity for de novo review in the appropriate district 

12 court of the United States, which shall have jurisdic13 tion over such an action without regard to the 

14 amount in controversy, and which action shall, at 

15 the request of either party to such action, be tried 

16 by the court with a jury. The action shall be gov17 erned by the same legal burdens of proof specified 

18 in paragraph (2)(B) for review by the Secretary of 

19 Labor. 

20 (e) REMEDIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee prevailing in 

22 any action under subsection (d) shall be entitled to 

23 all relief necessary to make the employee whole. 


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1 (2) DAMAGES.—Relief in an action under sub2 section (d) (including an action described in 

3 (d)(7))?shall include— 

4 (A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

5 status that the employee would have had, but 

6 for the discrimination; 

7 (B) any backpay, with interest; and 

8 (C) compensatory damages, including com9 pensation for any special damages sustained as 

10 a result of the discrimination, including litiga11 tion costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable 

12 attorney’s fees. 

13 (f) ELECTION OF REMEDIES.—An employee may not 

14 seek protection under both this section and another provi15 sion of law for the same allegedly unlawful act of the au16 thority. 

17 (g) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Nothing in 

18 this section shall be construed to diminish the rights, privi19 leges, or remedies of any employee under any Federal or 

20 State law, provision adopted by an authority created by 

21 an interstate Compact, or under any collective bargaining 

22 agreement. The rights and remedies in this section may 

23 not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition 

24 of employment. 


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1 (h) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section pre2 empts or diminishes any other safeguards against dis3 crimination, demotion, discharge, suspension, threats, har4 assment, reprimand, retaliation, or any other manner of 

5 discrimination provided by Federal or State law or provi6 sion adopted by an authority created by an interstate 

7 Compact. 

8 (i) DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.— 

9 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this 

10 subsection, or with the written consent of the em11 ployee, the Secretary of Transportation or the Sec12 retary of Homeland Security may not disclose the 

13 name of an employee who has provided information 

14 described in subsection (a)(1). 

15 (2) The Secretary of Transportation or the Sec16 retary of Homeland Security shall disclose to the At17 torney General the name of an employee described 

18 in paragraph (1) of this subsection if the matter is 

19 referred to the Attorney General for enforcement. 

20 The Secretary making such disclosure shall provide 

21 reasonable advance notice to the affected employee if 

22 disclosure of that person’s identity or identifying in23 formation is to occur. 

24 (j) PROCESS FOR REPORTING SECURITY PROBLEMS

25 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCESS.—The Sec2 retary shall establish through regulations after an 

3 opportunity for notice and comment, and provide in4 formation to the public regarding, a process by 

5 which any person may submit a report to the Sec6 retary regarding public transportation security prob7 lems, deficiencies, or vulnerabilities. 

8 (2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT.—If a re9 port submitted under paragraph (1) identifies the 

10 person making the report, the Secretary shall re11 spond promptly to such person and acknowledge re12 ceipt of the report. 

13 (3) STEPS TO ADDRESS PROBLEM.—The Sec14 retary shall review and consider the information pro15 vided in any report submitted under paragraph (1) 

16 and shall take appropriate steps to address any 

17 problems or deficiencies identified. 

18 SEC. 302. PROTECTION FROM WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIA19 TIONS FROM LABOR UNION OFFICIALS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—A labor organization or its offi21 cers or agents shall not discriminate against an employee 

22 if such discrimination is due, in whole or in part, to the 

23 employee’s lawful, good faith act done, or perceived by the 

24 labor organization to have been done or about to be 

25 done— 


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1 (1) to provide information, directly cause infor2 mation to be provided, or otherwise directly assist in 

3 any investigation regarding any conduct which the 

4 employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation 

5 of— 

6 (A) any Federal law or regulation or provi7 sion adopted by an authority created by an 

8 interstate Compact; 

9 (B) any bylaw of the labor organization; or 

10 (C) any fraud, waste, or abuse of the labor 

11 organization’s funds if the information or as12 sistance is provided to or an investigation stem13 ming from the provided information is con14 ducted by— 

15 (i) a Federal, State, or local regu16 latory or law enforcement agency, or a reg17 ulatory or law enforcement agency created 

18 by an interstate Compact (including an of19 fice of the Inspector General under the In20 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

21 App.; Public Law 95–452)); 

22 (ii) any Member of Congress, any 

23 committee of Congress, or the Government 

24 Accountability Office; or 


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1 (iii) a person with supervisory author2 ity over the employee or such other person 

3 who has the authority to investigate, dis4 cover, or terminate the misconduct; 

5 (2) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 

6 of any law, rule, or regulation relating to labor pol7 icy; 

8 (3) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 

9 of any bylaw of the labor organization; 

10 (4) to file a complaint or directly cause to be 

11 brought a proceeding related to the enforcement of 

12 this section or to testify in that proceeding; 

13 (5) to notify, or attempt to notify, an officer of 

14 the labor union, the employer, the inspector general, 

15 or the Secretary of Labor of a violation of a law, 

16 rule, regulation, or a bylaw of the labor organiza17 tion; 

18 (6) to accurately report hours on duty pursuant 

19 to chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code; 

20 (7) to cooperate with a safety or security inves21 tigation by any Federal, State, or local regulatory or 

22 law enforcement agency, or a regulatory or law en23 forcement agency created by an interstate Compact 

24 (including an office of the Inspector General under 


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1 the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.; 

2 Public Law 95–452)); or 

3 (8) to furnish information to any Federal, 

4 State, or local regulatory or law enforcement agency, 

5 or a regulatory or law enforcement agency created 

6 by an interstate Compact, as to the facts relating to 

7 any accident or incident resulting in injury or death 

8 to an individual, damage to property, or misappro9 priation of funds. 

10 (b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

11 (1) FILING AND NOTIFICATION.—A person who 

12 believes that he or she has been discharged or other13 wise discriminated against by any person in connec14 tion with a violation of subsection (a) may, not later 

15 than 180 days after the date on which such violation 

16 occurs, file (or have any person file on his or her be17 half) a complaint with the Secretary of Labor alleg18 ing such discharge or discrimination. Upon receipt 

19 of a complaint filed under this paragraph, the Sec20 retary of Labor shall notify, in writing, the person 

21 named in the complaint and the person’s employer 

22 of the filing of the complaint, of the allegations con23 tained in the complaint, of the substance of evidence 

24 supporting the complaint, and of the opportunities 


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1 that will be afforded to such person under paragraph 

2 (2). 

3 (2) INVESTIGATION; PRELIMINARY ORDER.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

5 after the date of receipt of a complaint filed 

6 under paragraph (1) and after affording the 

7 person named in the complaint an opportunity 

8 to submit to the Secretary of Labor a written 

9 response to the complaint and an opportunity to 

10 meet with a representative of the Secretary of 

11 Labor to present statements from witnesses, the 

12 Secretary of Labor shall conduct an investiga13 tion and determine whether there is reasonable 

14 cause to believe that the complaint has merit 

15 and notify, in writing, the complainant and the 

16 person alleged to have committed a violation of 

17 subsection (a) of the Secretary of Labor’s find18 ings. If the Secretary of Labor concludes that 

19 there is a reasonable cause to believe that a vio20 lation of subsection (a) has occurred, the Sec21 retary of Labor shall accompany the Secretary 

22 of Labor’s findings with a preliminary order 

23 providing the relief prescribed by paragraph 

24 (3)(B). Not later than 30 days after the date 

25 of notification of findings under this paragraph, 


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1 either the person alleged to have committed the 

2 violation or the complainant may file objections 

3 to the findings or preliminary order, or both, 

4 and request a hearing on the record. The filing 

5 of such objections shall not operate to stay any 

6 reinstatement remedy contained in the prelimi7 nary order. Such hearings shall be conducted 

8 expeditiously. If a hearing is not requested in 

9 such 30-day period, the preliminary order shall 

10 be deemed a final order that is not subject to 

11 judicial review. 

12 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (i) REQUIRED SHOWING BY COM14 PLAINANT.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

15 dismiss a complaint filed under this sub16 section and shall not conduct an investiga17 tion otherwise required under subpara18 graph (A) unless the complainant makes a 

19 prima facie showing that any behavior de20 scribed in subsection (a) was a contrib21 uting factor in the unfavorable personnel 

22 action alleged in the complaint. 

23 (ii) SHOWING BY LABOR ORGANIZA24 TION OFFICER.—Notwithstanding a find25 ing by the Secretary of Labor that the 


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1 complainant has made the showing re2 quired under clause (i), no investigation 

3 otherwise required under subparagraph (A) 

4 shall be conducted if the labor organization 

5 officer demonstrates, by clear and con6 vincing evidence, that the labor organiza7 tion officer would have taken the same un8 favorable personnel action in the absence 

9 of that behavior. 

10 (iii) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION

11 BY SECRETARY OF LABOR.—The Secretary 

12 of Labor may determine that a violation of 

13 subsection (a) has occurred only if the 

14 complainant demonstrates that any behav15 ior described in subsection (a) was a con16 tributing factor in the unfavorable per17 sonnel action alleged in the complaint. 

18 (iv) PROHIBITION.—Relief may not be 

19 ordered under subparagraph (A) if the 

20 labor union officer demonstrates by clear 

21 and convincing evidence that the labor 

22 union officer would have taken the same 

23 unfavorable personnel action in the ab24 sence of that behavior. 

25 (3) FINAL ORDER.— 


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1 (A) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE; SETTLE2 MENT AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 120 days 

3 after the date of conclusion of a hearing under 

4 paragraph (2), the Secretary of Labor shall 

5 issue a final order providing the relief pre6 scribed by this paragraph or denying the com7 plaint. At any time before issuance of a final 

8 order, a proceeding under this subsection may 

9 be terminated on the basis of a settlement 

10 agreement entered into by the Secretary of 

11 Labor, the complainant, and the person alleged 

12 to have committed the violation. 

13 (B) REMEDY.—If, in response to a com14 plaint filed under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

15 of Labor determines that a violation of sub16 section (a) has occurred, the Secretary of Labor 

17 shall order the person who committed such vio18 lation to— 

19 (i) take affirmative action to abate the 

20 violation; and 

21 (ii) provide the remedies described in 

22 subsection (c). 

23 (C) ORDER.—If an order is issued under 

24 subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Labor, at 

25 the request of the complainant, shall assess 


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1 against the person against whom the order is 

2 issued a sum equal to the aggregate amount of 

3 all costs and expenses (including attorney’s and 

4 expert witness fees) reasonably incurred, as de5 termined by the Secretary of Labor, by the 

6 complainant for, or in connection with, bringing 

7 the complaint upon which the order was issued. 

8 (D) FRIVOLOUS COMPLAINTS.—If the Sec9 retary of Labor finds that a complaint under 

10 paragraph (1) is frivolous or has been brought 

11 in bad faith, the Secretary of Labor may award 

12 to the prevailing labor organization officer rea13 sonable attorney’s fees not exceeding $1,000. 

14 (4) REVIEW.— 

15 (A) APPEAL TO COURT OF APPEALS.—Any 

16 person adversely affected or aggrieved by an 

17 order issued under paragraph (3) may obtain 

18 review of the order in the United States Court 

19 of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 

20 The petition for review must be filed not later 

21 than 60 days after the date of the issuance of 

22 the final order of the Secretary of Labor. Re23 view shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5, 

24 United States Code. The commencement of pro25 ceedings under this subparagraph shall not, unVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Dec 09, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4534.IH H4534

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1 less ordered by the court, operate as a stay of 

2 the order. 

3 (B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT4 TACK.—An order of the Secretary of Labor 

5 with respect to which review could have been 

6 obtained under subparagraph (A) shall not be 

7 subject to judicial review in any criminal or 

8 other civil proceeding. 

9 (5) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY SECRETARY

10 OF LABOR.—Whenever any person has failed to com11 ply with an order issued under paragraph (3), the 

12 Secretary of Labor shall file a civil action in the 

13 United States district court for the district in which 

14 the violation was found to occur to enforce such 

15 order. In actions brought under this paragraph, the 

16 district courts shall have jurisdiction to grant all ap17 propriate relief including, but not limited to, injunc18 tive relief and compensatory damages. 

19 (6) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY PARTIES.— 

20 (A) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—A per21 son on whose behalf an order was issued under 

22 paragraph (3) may commence a civil action 

23 against the person to whom such order was 

24 issued to require compliance with such order. 

25 The appropriate United States district court 


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1 shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the 

2 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the 

3 parties, to enforce such order. 

4 (B) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—The court, in 

5 issuing any final order under this paragraph, 

6 may award costs of litigation (including reason7 able attorney’s and expert witness fees) to any 

8 party whenever the court determines such 

9 award is appropriate. 

10 (7) DE NOVO REVIEW.—With respect to a com11 plaint under paragraph (1), if the Secretary of 

12 Labor has not issued a final decision within 210 

13 days after the filing of the complaint and if the 

14 delay is not due to the bad faith of the employee, 

15 the employee may bring an original action at law or 

16 equity for de novo review in the appropriate district 

17 court of the United States, which shall have jurisdic18 tion over such an action without regard to the 

19 amount in controversy, and which action shall, at 

20 the request of either party to such action, be tried 

21 by the court with a jury. The action shall be gov22 erned by the same legal burdens of proof specified 

23 in paragraph (2)(B) for review by the Secretary of 

24 Labor. 

25 (c) REMEDIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee prevailing in 

2 any action under subsection (b) shall be entitled to 

3 all relief necessary to make the employee whole. 

4 (2) DAMAGES.—Relief in an action under sub5 section (b) shall include— 

6 (A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

7 status that the employee would have had, but 

8 for the discrimination; 

9 (B) any backpay, with interest, to be paid 

10 by the labor organization in lieu of the em11 ployer; and 

12 (C) compensatory damages, including com13 pensation for any special damages sustained as 

14 a result of the discrimination, including litiga15 tion costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable 

16 attorney’s fees. 

17 (3) POSSIBLE RELIEF.—Relief in any action 

18 under subsection (b) may include punitive damages 

19 in an amount not to exceed $250,000. 

20 (d) ELECTION OF REMEDIES.—An employee may not 

21 seek protection under both this section and another provi22 sion of law for the same allegedly unlawful act of the au23 thority. 

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1 crimination, demotion, discharge, suspension, threats, har2 assment, reprimand, retaliation, or any other manner of 

3 discrimination provided by Federal or State law or provi4 sion adopted by an authority created by an interstate 

5 Compact. 

6 (f) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Nothing in 

7 this section shall be construed to diminish the rights, privi8 leges, or remedies of any employee under any Federal or 

9 State law, provision adopted by an authority created by 

10 an interstate Compact, or under any collective bargaining 

11 agreement. The rights and remedies in this section may 

12 not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition 

13 of employment. 

14 TITLE IV—OTHER PROVISIONS 

15 SEC. 401. STANDARDIZATION OF FEDERAL TRANSIT BENE16 FITS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the General Services Ad19 ministration (in this section referred to as ‘‘GSA’’) shall 

20 initiate a review of the various transit benefit programs 

21 administered by each Federal department and agency with 

22 facilities located in the Washington Metropolitan Area 

23 Transit Zone for the purposes of standardizing the rate 

24 of benefit for all Federal employees enrolled in such a pro25 gram. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The standardized rate of benefit shall 

2 constitute— 

3 (1) an operating subsidy afforded to the Au4 thority from the Government in lieu of direct appro5 priations for the Authority’s operating costs; and 

6 (2) a benefit to Federal employees who use the 

7 services administered by the Authority to get to and 

8 from their place of business. 

9 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDIZED RATE.—Not 

10 later than 75 days after enactment of this Act, the GSA 

11 shall establish a policy for a standardized rate and shall 

12 have issued rules and regulations to administer such rate, 

13 including guidance for each department and agency to fol14 low in adopting the new rate of benefit. The initial rate 

15 established shall be not less than 90 percent of the highest 

16 rate used by any Federal agency or department, as deter17 mined at the time the policy is established. The policy shall 

18 be made public, and shall include all relevant statistics 

19 used to justify the proposed standardized rate. 

20 (d) ADOPTION OF STANDARDIZED RATE.—Not later 

21 than 60 days after the GSA makes public the policy in 

22 subsection (c), all applicable departments and agencies of 

23 the Government shall adopt and make available the stand24 ardized rate of benefit. 


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1 (e) ADJUSTMENT OF RATE.—The rate established in 

2 subsection (c) shall be reviewed annually and adjusted, if 

3 necessary, based on the same criteria used to calculate the 

4 general schedule of salaries for the Washington-Baltimore5 Arlington, DC–MD–VA–WV–PA areas. 

6 SEC. 402. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRA7 TION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 15 days after enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a contract 

10 with the National Academy of Public Administration for 

11 the purposes of carrying out this Act. The Academy shall 

12 provide assistance to the Secretary, the Authority, and the 

13 Signatories (individually and collectively) for the purposes 

14 of carrying out this Act. 

15 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the relevant 

16 provisions of this Act, the Academy shall— 

17 (1) recommend strategies, practices, and tools 

18 to increase the effectiveness of the Board; 

19 (2) facilitate engagement with the Signatories 

20 to assist in the development and implementation of 

21 a new interstate Compact; 

22 (3) conduct research and analysis in response 

23 to specific needs of the Board and the Signatories, 

24 including key policy and management issues; 


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1 (4) provide support to the Board in the develop2 ment of a transition plan; and 

3 (5) provide implementation support for any 

4 changes to the Board, or any other changes required 

5 by this Act. 

6 (c) REPORTS.— 

7 (1) PERIODIC REPORTS.—The Academy shall 

8 submit periodic reports, in addition to a final report 

9 upon completion of the contract, summarizing the 

10 support provided and any findings and recommenda11 tions to the appropriate congressional committees. 

12 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

13 after the date determined in subsection (d), the 

14 Academy shall publish online in searchable format a 

15 final report summarizing the support provided and 

16 any findings and recommendations for consideration 

17 in Congress. The Academy shall provide notice to 

18 the appropriate congressional committees in advance 

19 of the publication of the final report. 

20 (d) CONTRACT LENGTH.—The initial term of the 

21 contract with the National Academy of Public Administra22 tion shall be for a period of not less than 6 months after 

23 the succeeding Compact is in place. The contract may be 

24 renewed, as appropriate, such that the contract shall be 


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1 in effect for not less than 90 days after the interstate 

2 Compact is amended pursuant to section 103. 

3 SEC. 403. FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION REVIEW. 

4 The Administrator of the Federal Transit Adminis5 tration shall conduct a review with respect to competitive 

6 grant programs administered by the Federal Transit Ad7 ministration to identify alternative criteria that may be 

8 used in addition to, or in lieu of, minimum capital costs 

9 for transit grants awarded by the Administration. The 

10 purpose of such a review is to establish criteria that will 

11 incentivize efficiency within the entities applying for grant 

12 funds. The Administrator shall review any relevant per13 formance metrics, including— 

14 (1) system expenses relative to vehicle revenue 

15 hours; 

16 (2) cost per passenger mile; 

17 (3) cost inefficiencies associated with inad18 equate planning for procurement of equipment such 

19 as railcars and buses; and 

20 (4) overall safety, including number of accidents 

21 or injuries system-wide. 

22 SEC. 404. METRO REFORM COMMISSION. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon enactment of this Act, 

24 there is established a Metro Reform Commission. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The Commission will serve as an 

2 intergovernmental body whose purpose is to— 

3 (1) share information and provide a forum 

4 through which proposals to improve the Authority 

5 may be debated; and 

6 (2) keep Congress and other relevant stake7 holders informed of the progress of the efforts by 

8 the Signatories to amend the interstate Compact 

9 and increase efficiencies within the Authority. 

10 (c) MAKEUP.—The makeup of the Commission shall 

11 be as follows: 

12 (1) The Governor of Virginia. 

13 (2) The Governor of Maryland. 

14 (3) The Mayor of the District of Columbia. 

15 (4) The Secretary of Transportation. 

16 (5) The General Manager of the Authority. 

17 (6) 1 member of the National Academy for 

18 Public Administration contracted under section 402 

19 of this Act. 

20 (7) 8 Members of the House of Representatives 

21 appointed by the Speaker of the House, 5 of which 

22 shall be from the majority, and 3 of which shall be 

23 from the minority. 


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1 (8) 3 Members of the Senate appointed by the 

2 majority leader, 2 of which shall be from the major3 ity, and 1 of which shall be from the minority. 

4 (d) DESIGNEES.—Any member of the Commission 

5 may select an individual to serve as a designee on the 

6 Commission. 

7 (e) CHAIR.—The Chair shall be named by the Speak8 er of the House of Representatives. 

9 (f) MEETINGS.— 

10 (1) FREQUENCY.—The Commission shall meet 

11 subject to the call of the Chair. 

12 (2) OUTSIDE PARTICIPANTS.—The members of 

13 the Commission may vote with not less than 10 

14 votes to invite outside guests, including stakeholders, 

15 subject matter experts, community leaders, elected 

16 officials, representatives of the business community, 

17 or other relevant entities to their meetings to provide 

18 counsel or briefings. 

19 (3) LOCATION.—The Chair shall name the time 

20 and place of meetings, which may be held in a pub21 licly or privately owned building with no expectation 

22 of reciprocal action or favoritism is provided to the 

23 individual granting permission for use of the space. 

24 (g) DUTIES.—The Governors of Maryland and Vir25 ginia, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia (referred 


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1 to in this section as the ‘‘executives’’) jointly shall develop 

2 a document to reflect specific amendments, deletions, ad3 ditions, or edits to the previous interstate Compact which 

4 governed the Authority. The executives shall provide, to 

5 the best of their ability, such document to the other mem6 bers of the Commission upon request, but at least as often 

7 as the Commission convenes. Upon agreement among the 

8 Signatories of a new interstate Compact, the executives 

9 shall provide a final version of this document to the mem10 bers of the Commission. 

11 (h) TERMS OF SERVICE.—The members of the Com12 mission shall serve as long as the Commission is author13 ized. If no amendments to the Compact are agreed upon 

14 before the political term of a Commission member expires, 

15 or that Commission member is defeated in a political elec16 tion, or is removed from office for any reason, his or her 

17 successor to such political office shall serve on the Com18 mission. 

19 (i) COMPENSATION.—The members of the Commis20 sion shall serve in addition to their regular professional 

21 duties and obligations, and shall not receive compensation 

22 for membership on, or participation with, the Commission. 

23 (j) GIFTS.—Except as provided in subsection (f)(3) 

24 of this section, the Commission members may not accept, 


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1 use, or dispose of gifts, including donations, services, prop2 erty, or tangible goods. 

3 (k) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall be termi4 nated after the Signatories negotiate amendments to the 

5 Compact, adopt such amendments, and the Congress ap6 proves such amendments. 

7 SEC. 405. NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA INTEREST ARBITRA8 TION STANDARDS. 

9 Sections 18301 through 18304 of chapter 183 of title 

10 40, United States Code, are amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘§ 18301. Findings and purposes 

12 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

13 ‘‘(1) safe, reliable, and affordable public trans14 portation at sufficient levels is essential to the eco15 nomic vitality of the national capital area and is an 

16 essential component of regional efforts to improve 

17 air quality to meet environmental requirements and 

18 to improve the health of both residents of and visi19 tors to the national capital area as well as to pre20 serve the beauty and dignity of the Nation’s capital; 

21 ‘‘(2) use of mass transit by both residents of 

22 and visitors to the national capital area is substan23 tially affected by the prices charged for mass transit 

24 services, prices that are substantially affected by 


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1 labor costs, since more than 70 percent of operating 

2 costs are attributable to labor costs; 

3 ‘‘(3) labor costs incurred in providing mass 

4 transit in the national capital area have increased at 

5 an alarming rate and are unsustainable in light of 

6 the financial condition of interstate Compact agen7 cies providing mass transit services in the national 

8 capital area; 

9 ‘‘(4) higher operating costs incurred for public 

10 transit in the national capital area cannot be offset 

11 by increasing costs to patrons, since this often dis12 courages ridership and thus undermines the public 

13 interest in promoting the use of public transit; 

14 ‘‘(5) higher operating costs incurred for public 

15 transit in the national capital area cannot be offset 

16 by service cuts since this undermines the public in17 terest in promoting the use of public transit and 

18 could impact public safety; 

19 ‘‘(6) spiraling labor costs cannot be offset by 

20 the governmental entities that are responsible for 

21 subsidy payments for public transit services since 

22 local governments face other substantial financial 

23 obligations; 

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1 erating in the national capital area providing public 

2 transportation is financially stressed taking into ac3 count operating costs, legacy benefit obligations, 

4 capital needs, and reserve levels; 

5 ‘‘(8) imposition of mandatory standards appli6 cable to arbitrators resolving arbitration disputes in7 volving interstate Compact agencies operating in the 

8 national capital area will ensure that wages, bene9 fits, and other terms and conditions of employment, 

10 including work rules, are justified and do not ad11 versely impact the ability of the interstate Compact 

12 agencies to provide affordable, safe, and reliable 

13 public transit services at levels sufficient to serve the 

14 needs of the Washington metropolitan area; 

15 ‘‘(9) Federal legislation is required to ensure 

16 that interest arbitration decisions do not adversely 

17 impact the ability of interstate Compact agencies op18 erating in the national capital area to emerge from 

19 periods of financial stress and avoid future periods 

20 of financial stress; and 

21 ‘‘(10) Federal legislation is necessary under 

22 section 8 of article I of the Constitution to balance 

23 the need to moderate and lower labor costs while 

24 maintaining labor peace. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this chapter is to 

2 adopt standards governing arbitration that arbitrators 

3 must apply exclusively in resolving disputes involving 

4 interstate Compact agencies operating in the national cap5 ital area in order to lower operating costs and facilitate 

6 the provision of safe, reliable, and affordable public transit 

7 services at sufficient levels in the Washington metropoli8 tan area. 

9 ‘‘§ 18302. Definitions 

10 ‘‘In this chapter, the following definitions apply: 

11 ‘‘(1) ARBITRATION.—The term ‘arbitration’— 

12 ‘‘(A) means the arbitration of disputes, re13 garding the terms and conditions of employ14 ment, that is required under an interstate Com15 pact governing an interstate Compact agency 

16 operating in the national capital area; but 

17 ‘‘(B) does not include the interpretation 

18 and application of rights arising from an exist19 ing collective bargaining agreement. 

20 ‘‘(2) ARBITRATOR.—The term ‘arbitrator’ re21 fers to either a single arbitrator, or a board of arbi22 trators, chosen under applicable procedures. 

23 ‘‘(3) INTERSTATE COMPACT AGENCY OPER24 ATING IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA.—The term 

25 ‘interstate Compact agency operating in the national 


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1 capital area’ means any interstate Compact agency 

2 that provides public transit services and that was es3 tablished by an interstate Compact to which the Dis4 trict of Columbia is a signatory. 

5 ‘‘(4) FINANCIAL STRESS.—The term ‘financial 

6 stress’ means that at least 2 of the following 3 fi7 nancial issues are affecting an interstate Compact 

8 agency operating in the national capital area: 

9 ‘‘(A) The interstate Compact agency’s 

10 ratio of operating revenues (excluding any sub11 sidy payment or budgetary assistance) to oper12 ating expenses (as measured on the last date of 

13 each fiscal year) has decreased in the aggregate 

14 over the preceding 2-year period. 

15 ‘‘(B) The interstate Compact agency has 

16 taken at least one of the following measures 

17 during the preceding 2-year period: 

18 ‘‘(i) Reduced service. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Increased fares. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Diverted capital funds to pay for 

21 operating expenses during a period in 

22 which the interstate Compact agency’s 

23 ratio of capital backlog to system value is 

24 greater than the average ratio of capital 


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1 backlog to system value for other United 

2 States transit systems. 

3 ‘‘(C) It is not reasonably foreseeable that 

4 the interstate Compact agency will be in a state 

5 of good repair within the following 2 years as 

6 determined by the Federal Transit Administra7 tion’s Transit Economic Requirements Model or 

8 any other alternative model that the Federal 

9 Transit Administration may utilize in the fu10 ture. 

11 ‘‘§ 18303. Standards for arbitrators 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 

13 welfare’ means, with respect to arbitration under an inter14 state Compact— 

15 ‘‘(1) the ability of the interstate Compact agen16 cy to finance wages and benefits resulting from an 

17 arbitrator’s award consistent with its projected oper18 ating and capital budgets during the term of such 

19 award without adversely impacting the agency’s abil20 ity to provide safe, reliable, and affordable public 

21 transportation at sufficient levels; 

22 ‘‘(2) the ability of the interstate Compact agen23 cy to finance wages and benefits resulting from an 

24 arbitrator’s award as set forth in subsection (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the continuity and stability of interstate 

2 Compact agency operations to the effect that such 

3 operations are not detrimental to any facet of the re4 gional economy or to the ability of employees of the 

5 Federal, State, or local governments to conduct busi6 ness. 

7 ‘‘(b) FACTORS IN MAKING ARBITRATION AWARD.— 

8 An arbitrator rendering an arbitration award involving the 

9 employees of an interstate Compact agency operating in 

10 the national capital area must exclusively consider the fol11 lowing factors, in addition to the factors prescribed in sub12 section (c): 

13 ‘‘(1) The existing wages, benefits, and terms 

14 and conditions of employment of the employees in 

15 the bargaining unit except that structural changes 

16 should be awarded to the benefit of an interstate 

17 Compact agency operating in the national capital 

18 area where such changes are consistent with the 

19 public welfare. 

20 ‘‘(2) The reasonably available and ongoing fi21 nancial resources of the interstate Compact agency, 

22 taking into account the liabilities and obligations (in23 cluding capital needs, legacy benefit obligations, and 

24 reserve levels) of the interstate Compact agency, 


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1 based on the agency’s budget for the current year 

2 and its projected budget for the next 10 years. 

3 ‘‘(3) The annual increase or decrease in con4 sumer prices for goods and services as reflected in 

5 the most recent Consumer Price Index for the Wash6 ington-Baltimore, DC–MD–VA–WV Consolidated 

7 Metropolitan Statistical Area, published by the Bu8 reau of Labor Statistics. 

9 ‘‘(4) The wages, benefits, and terms and condi10 tions of the employment of other employees in the 

11 District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia whose 

12 positions require qualifications and skills similar to 

13 those required by employees in the bargaining unit 

14 except that an arbitrator rendering an arbitration 

15 award involving the employees of an interstate Com16 pact agency operating in the national capital area 

17 may not consider the wages, benefits, and terms and 

18 conditions of employment of employees working out19 side of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Vir20 ginia. 

21 ‘‘(5) The wages, benefits, and terms and condi22 tions of employment applicable to other employees of 

23 the interstate Compact agency taking into account 

24 the special nature of the work performed by the em25 ployees in the bargaining unit, including any hazards 


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1 or the relative ease of employment, physical require2 ments, educational qualifications, job training and 

3 skills, shift assignments, and the demands placed 

4 upon the employees as compared to only other em5 ployees of the same interstate Compact agency. 

6 ‘‘(6) The interests and welfare of the employees 

7 in the bargaining unit, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) the overall compensation presently re9 ceived by the employees, having regard not only 

10 for wage rates but also for wages for time not 

11 worked, including vacations, holidays, and other 

12 excused absences; 

13 ‘‘(B) all benefits received by the employees, 

14 including previous bonuses, insurance, and pen15 sions; and 

16 ‘‘(C) the continuity and stability of em17 ployment, such that the arbitrator shall not 

18 issue an award increasing wages or benefits 

19 where the interstate Compact agency operating 

20 in the national capital area can show that such 

21 recommended increases could result in 

22 headcount reductions. 

23 ‘‘(7) The public welfare. 

24 ‘‘(c) ABILITY TO FINANCE WAGES AND BENEFITS

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1 tration award involving the employees of an interstate 

2 Compact agency operating in the national capital area 

3 shall not, with respect to a collective bargaining agreement 

4 governing conditions of employment, provide for wages or 

5 other benefits that exceed the reasonable and ongoing abil6 ity of the interstate Compact agency operating in the na7 tional capital area to obtain the necessary financial re8 sources to pay for wage and benefit increases for employ9 ees of the interstate Compact agency while providing safe, 

10 reliable, and affordable transit services at levels sufficient 

11 to serve the needs of the Washington metropolitan area. 

12 The following conditions shall be met to comply with this 

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(1) An arbitrator’s award shall not provide for 

15 wages and benefits that will result in an annual in16 crease in operating subsidy of more than 1.5 percent 

17 inclusive of both labor and nonlabor-related oper18 ating costs, unless there is substantial evidence that 

19 the interstate Compact agency is able to finance the 

20 additional costs consistent with its budget and pro21 jected budgeted costs without adversely impacting 

22 the agency’s ability to provide safe, reliable, and af23 fordable public transportation at sufficient levels. 

24 ‘‘(2) During those periods of time when an 

25 interstate Compact agency operating in the national 


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1 capital area is financially stressed, the arbitrator 

2 shall issue an award that either reduces or does not 

3 increase the interstate Compact agency’s personnel 

4 costs. 

5 ‘‘(3) The arbitrator’s award must give substan6 tial deference to the evidence presented by the inter7 state Compact agency’s management regarding fi8 nancial issues. 

9 ‘‘(4) The arbitrator’s award may not cause the 

10 interstate Compact agency operating in the national 

11 capital area to be in noncompliance with any other 

12 legal obligations. 

13 ‘‘(d) CLARIFICATION.—An arbitrator rendering an 

14 arbitration award involving the employees of an interstate 

15 Compact agency operating in the national capital area 

16 shall consider the factors in subsection (b) independently 

17 from the factors in subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL AWARD.— 

19 ‘‘(1) WRITTEN AWARD.—In resolving a dispute 

20 submitted to arbitration involving the employees of 

21 an interstate Compact agency operating in the na22 tional capital area, the arbitrator shall issue a writ23 ten award that demonstrates that all the factors set 

24 forth in subsections (b) and (c) have been considered 


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1 and applied and that the arbitrator has not consid2 ered and applied any other factors. 

3 ‘‘(2) PREREQUISITES.—An award may grant an 

4 increase in pay rates or benefits (including insurance 

5 and pension benefits), or reduce hours of work, only 

6 if the arbitrator concludes that any costs to the 

7 agency do not adversely affect the public welfare. 

8 ‘‘(3) SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.—The arbitra9 tor’s conclusion regarding the public welfare must be 

10 supported by substantial evidence. 

11 ‘‘(f) COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 5333(b) OF TITLE

12 49, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) CLARIFICATION.—Neither the existence of 

14 this statute, nor any arbitrator’s award issues pur15 suant to this law, shall be deemed to violate the re16 quirements of section 5333(b) of title 49, United 

17 States Code. 

18 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON DENIAL.—For the avoid19 ance of doubt, the Department of Labor or the De20 partment of Transportation shall not deny any cer21 tification of compliance with section 5333(b) of title 

22 49, United States Code, and an interstate Compact 

23 agency operating in the national capital area shall 

24 not be denied any Federal grant as a result of this 


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1 statute or any arbitrator’s award issued pursuant to 

2 this statute. 

3 ‘‘§ 18304. Procedures for enforcement of awards 

4 ‘‘(a) MODIFICATIONS AND FINALITY OF AWARD.— 

5 Within 10 days after the parties receive an arbitration 

6 award to which section 18303 of this title applies, the 

7 interstate Compact agency and the employees, through 

8 their representative, may agree in writing on any modifica9 tions to the award. After the end of that 10-day period, 

10 the award, and any modifications, become binding on the 

11 interstate Compact agency, the employees in the bar12 gaining unit, and the employees’ representative. 

13 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Each party to an award 

14 that becomes binding under subsection (a) shall take all 

15 actions necessary to implement the award. 

16 ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Within 60 days after an 

17 award becomes binding under subsection (a), the inter18 state Compact agency or the exclusive representative of 

19 the employees concerned may bring a civil action in a 

20 court that has jurisdiction over the interstate Compact 

21 agency for review of the award. The court shall review the 

22 award on the record, and shall vacate the award or any 

23 part of the award, after notice and a hearing, if— 

24 ‘‘(1) the award is in violation of applicable law; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the arbitrator exceeded the arbitrator’s 

2 powers; 

3 ‘‘(3) the decision by the arbitrator is arbitrary 

4 or capricious; 

5 ‘‘(4) the arbitrator conducted the hearing con6 trary to the provisions of this chapter or other laws 

7 or rules that apply to the arbitration so as to sub8 stantially prejudice the rights of a party; 

9 ‘‘(5) there was partiality or misconduct by the 

10 arbitrator prejudicing the rights of a party; 

11 ‘‘(6) the award was procured by corruption, 

12 fraud, or bias on the part of the arbitrator; or 

13 ‘‘(7) the arbitrator did not comply with the pro14 visions of section 18303 of this title.’’. 

Æ 


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