II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 668

To authorize the establishment of the National Capital Region Interstate

Transportation Authority, to define the powers and duties of the Authority, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 4 (legislative day, MARCH 27), 1995

Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To authorize the establishment of the National Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority, to define the

powers and duties of the 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 ‘‘National Capital Re5 gion Interstate Transportation Authority Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) traffic congestion imposes serious economic

2 burdens on the metropolitan Washington, D.C.,

3 area, costing each commuter an estimated $1,000

4 per year;

5 (2) the average length of a commute in the

6 metropolitan Washington, D.C., area is second only

7 to the average length of a commute in metropolitan

8 New York;

9 (3) the volume of traffic in the metropolitan

10 Washington, D.C., area is expected to increase by

11 more than 70 percent between 1990 and 2020;

12 (4) the deterioration of the Woodrow Wilson

13 Memorial Bridge and the growing population of the

14 metropolitan Washington, D.C., area contribute sig15 nificantly to traffic congestion;

16 (5) the Bridge serves as a vital link in the

17 Interstate System and in the Northeast corridor;

18 (6) identifying alternative methods for main19 taining this vital link of the Interstate System is

20 critical to addressing the traffic congestion of the

21 area;

22 (7) the Bridge is—

23 (A) the only drawbridge in the metropoli24 tan Washington, D.C., area on the Interstate

25 System;
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1 (B) the only segment of the Capital Belt2 way with only 6 lanes; and

3 (C) the only segment of the Capital Belt4 way with a remaining expected life of less than

5 10 years;

6 (8) the Bridge is the only part of the Interstate

7 System owned by the Federal Government;

8 (9) while the Commonwealth of Virginia, the

9 State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia

10 maintain the Bridge, no entity has ever been grant11 ed full and clear responsibility for all aspects of the

12 Bridge;

13 (10) the Federal Government has historically

14 had a role in fostering regional transportation plan15 ning, as demonstrated by the construction of the

16 Bridge by the Department of Commerce and the

17 longstanding ownership of and funding for the

18 Bridge by the Department of Transportation;

19 (11) the transfer of ownership of the Bridge to

20 a regional entity under the terms and conditions de21 scribed in this Act would foster regional transpor22 tation planning efforts to identify solutions to the

23 growing problem of traffic congestion on and around

24 the Bridge;
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1 (12) any material change to the Bridge must

2 take into account the interests of nearby commu3 nities, the commuting public, Federal, State, and

4 local government organizations, and other affected

5 groups; and

6 (13) a commission of congressional, State, and

7 local officials and transportation representatives has

8 recommended to the Secretary of Transportation

9 that the Bridge be transferred to an independent au10 thority to be established by the Capital Region juris11 dictions.

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

13 The purposes of this Act are—

14 (1) to grant consent to the Commonwealth of

15 Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of

16 Columbia to establish the National Capital Region

17 Interstate Transportation Authority; and

18 (2) to authorize the transfer of ownership of the

19 Bridge to the Authority for the purposes of owning,

20 constructing, maintaining, and operating a bridge or

21 tunnel or a bridge and tunnel project across the Po22 tomac River.

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

24 In this Act:
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1 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means

2 the National Capital Region Interstate Transpor3 tation Authority authorized by this Act and by simi4 lar enactment by each of the Capital Region jurisdic5 tions.

6 (2) AUTHORITY FACILITY.—The term ‘‘Author7 ity facility’’ means—

8 (A) the Bridge (as in existence on the date

9 of enactment of this Act);

10 (B) any southern Capital Beltway crossing

11 of the Potomac River constructed in the vicinity

12 of the Bridge after the date of enactment of

13 this Act; or

14 (C) any building, improvement, addition,

15 extension, replacement, appurtenance, land, in16 terest in land, water right, air right, franchise,

17 machinery, equipment, furnishing, landscaping,

18 easement, utility, approach, roadway, or other

19 facility necessary or desirable in connection

20 with or incidental to a facility described in sub21 paragraph (A) or (B).

22 (3) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the

23 board of directors of the Authority established under

24 section 6.
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1 (4) BRIDGE.—The term ‘‘Bridge’’ means the

2 Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge across the Poto3 mac River.

4 (5) CAPITAL REGION JURISDICTION.—The term

5 ‘‘Capital Region jurisdiction’’ means—

6 (A) the Commonwealth of Virginia;

7 (B) the State of Maryland; or

8 (C) the District of Columbia.

9 (6) INTERSTATE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Inter10 state System’’ means the Dwight D. Eisenhower Na11 tional System of Interstate and Defense Highways

12 designated under section 103(e) of title 23, United

13 States Code.

14 (7) NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION.—The term

15 ‘‘National Capital Region’’ means the region consist16 ing of the metropolitan areas of—

17 (A)(i) the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax,

18 and Falls Church, Virginia; and

19 (ii) the counties of Arlington and Fairfax,

20 Virginia, and the political subdivisions of the

21 Commonwealth of Virginia located in the coun22 ties;

23 (B) the counties of Montgomery and

24 Prince Georges, Maryland, and the political
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1 subdivisions of the State of Maryland located in

2 the counties; and

3 (C) the District of Columbia.

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

5 the Secretary of Transportation.

6 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORITY.

7 (a) CONSENT TO AGREEMENT.—Congress grants

8 consent to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of

9 Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into an

10 interstate agreement or compact to establish the National

11 Capital Region Interstate Transportation Authority in ac12 cordance with this Act.

13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORITY.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—On execution of the inter15 state agreement or compact described in subsection

16 (a), the Authority shall be considered to be estab17 lished.

18 (2) GENERAL POWERS.—The Authority shall be

19 a body corporate and politic, independent of all other

20 bodies and jurisdictions, having the powers and ju21 risdiction described in this Act and such additional

22 powers as are conferred on the Authority by the

23 Capital Region jurisdictions, to the extent that the

24 additional powers are consistent with this Act.
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1 SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT OF AUTHORITY.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall be governed

3 in accordance with this section and with the terms of any

4 interstate agreement or compact relating to the Authority

5 that is consistent with this Act.

6 (b) BOARD.—The Authority shall be governed by a

7 board of directors consisting of 12 members appointed by

8 the Capital Region jurisdictions and 1 member appointed

9 by the Secretary.

10 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—One member of the Board ap11 pointed by each of the Capital Region jurisdictions shall

12 have an appropriate background in finance, construction

13 lending, or infrastructure policy.

14 (d) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the Board

15 shall be elected biennially by the members of the Board.

16 (e) SECRETARY AND TREASURER.—The Board

17 may—

18 (1) biennially elect a secretary and a treasurer,

19 or a secretary-treasurer, without regard to whether

20 the individual is a member of the Board; and

21 (2) prescribe the powers and duties of the sec22 retary and treasurer, or the secretary-treasurer.

23 (f) TERMS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), a member of the Board shall serve for a

26 6-year term, and shall continue to serve until the
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1 successor of the member has been appointed in ac2 cordance with this subsection.

3 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—

4 (A) BY CAPITAL REGION JURISDICTIONS.—

5 Members initially appointed to the Board by a

6 Capital Region jurisdiction shall be appointed

7 for the following terms:

8 (i) 1 member shall be appointed for a

9 6-year term.

10 (ii) 1 member shall be appointed for a

11 4-year term.

12 (iii) 2 members shall each be ap13 pointed for a 2-year term.

14 (B) BY SECRETARY.—The member of the

15 Board appointed by the Secretary shall be ap16 pointed for a 6-year term.

17 (3) FAILURE TO APPOINT.—The failure of a

18 Capital Region jurisdiction to appoint 1 or more

19 members of the Board, as provided in this sub20 section, shall not impair the establishment of the

21 Authority if the condition of the establishment de22 scribed in section 5(b)(1) has been met.

23 (4) VACANCIES.—Subject to paragraph (5), a

24 person appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board shall

25 serve for the unexpired term.
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1 (5) REAPPOINTMENTS.—A member of the

2 Board shall be eligible for reappointment for 1 addi3 tional term.

4 (6) PERSONAL LIABILITY OF MEMBERS.—A

5 member of the Board, including any nonvoting mem6 ber, shall not be personally liable for—

7 (A) any action taken in the capacity of the

8 member as a member of the Board; or

9 (B) any note, bond, or other financial obli10 gation of the Authority.

11 (7) QUORUM.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), for the purpose of carrying out the

14 business of the Authority, 7 members of the

15 Board shall constitute a quorum.

16 (B) APPROVAL OF BOND ISSUES AND

17 BUDGET.—Eight affirmative votes of the mem18 bers of the Board shall be required to approve

19 bond issues and the annual budget of the Au20 thority.

21 (8) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board

22 shall serve without compensation and shall reside

23 within a Capital Region jurisdiction.

24 (9) EXPENSES.—A member of the Board shall

25 be entitled to reimbursement for the expenses of the
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1 member incurred in attending a meeting of the

2 Board or while otherwise engaged in carrying out

3 the duties of the Board.

4 SEC. 7. OWNERSHIP OF BRIDGE.

5 (a) CONVEYANCE BY SECRETARY.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the Capital Region ju7 risdictions enter into the agreement described in

8 subsection (c), the Secretary shall convey all right,

9 title, and interest of the Department of Transpor10 tation in and to the Bridge to the Authority. Except

11 as provided in paragraph (2), upon conveyance by

12 the Secretary, the Authority shall accept the right,

13 title, and interest in and to the Bridge, and all du14 ties and responsibilities associated with the Bridge.

15 (2) INTERIM RESPONSIBILITIES.—Until such

16 time as a new crossing of the Potomac River de17 scribed in section 8 is constructed and operational,

18 the conveyance under paragraph (1) shall in no

19 way—

20 (A) relieve the Capital Region jurisdictions

21 of the sole and exclusive responsibility to main22 tain and operate the Bridge; or

23 (B) relieve the Secretary of the responsibil24 ity to rehabilitate the Bridge or to comply with

25 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
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1 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and all other require2 ments applicable with respect to the Bridge.

3 (b) CONVEYANCE BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTE4 RIOR.—At the same time as the conveyance of the Bridge

5 by the Secretary under subsection (a), the Secretary of

6 the Interior shall transfer to the Authority all right, title,

7 and interest of the Department of the Interior in and to

8 such land under or adjacent to the Bridge as is necessary

9 to carry out section 8. Upon conveyance by the Secretary

10 of the Interior, the Authority shall accept the right, title,

11 and interest in and to the land.

12 (c) AGREEMENT.—The agreement referred to in sub13 section (a) is an agreement among the Secretary, the Gov14 ernors of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of

15 Maryland, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia as

16 to the Federal share of the cost of the activities carried

17 out under section 8.

18 SEC. 8. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND CONSTRUCTION.

19 The Authority shall take such action as is necessary

20 to address the need of the National Capital Region for

21 an enhanced southern Capital Beltway crossing of the Po22 tomac River that serves the traffic corridor of the Bridge

23 (as in existence on the date of enactment of this Act), in

24 accordance with the recommendations in the final environ25 mental impact statement prepared by the Secretary. The
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1 Authority shall have the sole responsibility for the owner2 ship, construction, operation, and maintenance of a new

3 crossing of the Potomac River.

4 SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF

5 AUTHORITY.

6 In addition to the powers and responsibilities of the

7 Authority under the other provisions of this Act and under

8 any interstate agreement or compact relating to the Au9 thority that is consistent with this Act, the Authority shall

10 have all powers necessary and appropriate to carry out

11 the duties of the Authority, including the power—

12 (1) to adopt and amend any bylaw that is nec13 essary for the regulation of the affairs of the Au14 thority and the conduct of the business of the Au15 thority;

16 (2) to adopt and amend any regulation that is

17 necessary to carry out the powers of the Authority;

18 (3) subject to section 7(a)(2), to plan, establish,

19 finance, operate, develop, construct, enlarge, main20 tain, equip, or protect the Bridge or a new crossing

21 of the Potomac River described in section 8;

22 (4) to employ, in the discretion of the Author23 ity, a consulting engineer, attorney, accountant, con24 struction or financial expert, superintendent, or

25 manager, or such other employee or agent as is nec-
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1 essary, and to fix the compensation and benefits of

2 the employee or agent, except that—

3 (A) an employee of the Authority shall not

4 engage in an activity described in section

5 7116(b)(7) of title 5, United States Code, with

6 respect to the Authority; and

7 (B) an employment agreement entered into

8 by the Authority shall contain an explicit prohi9 bition against an activity described in subpara10 graph (A) with respect to the Authority by an

11 employee covered by the agreement;

12 (5) to—

13 (A) acquire personal and real property (in14 cluding land lying under water and riparian

15 rights), or any easement or other interest in

16 real property, by purchase, lease, gift, transfer,

17 or exchange; and

18 (B) exercise such powers of eminent do19 main in the Capital Region jurisdictions as are

20 conferred on the Authority by the Capital Re21 gion jurisdictions, in the exercise of the powers

22 and the performance of the duties of the Au23 thority;

24 (6) to apply for and accept any property, mate25 rial, service, payment, appropriation, grant, gift,
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1 loan, advance, or other fund that is transferred or

2 made available to the Authority by the Federal Gov3 ernment or by any other public or private entity or

4 individual;

5 (7) to borrow money on a short-term basis and

6 issue notes of the Authority for the borrowing pay7 able on such terms and conditions as the Board con8 siders advisable, and to issue bonds in the discretion

9 of the Authority for any purpose consistent with this

10 Act, which notes and bonds—

11 (A) shall not constitute a debt of the

12 United States, a Capital Region jurisdiction, or

13 any political subdivision of the United States or

14 a Capital Region jurisdiction;

15 (B) may be secured solely by the general

16 revenues of the Authority, or solely by the in17 come and revenues of the Bridge or a new

18 crossing of the Potomac River described in sec19 tion 8; and

20 (C) shall be exempt as to principal and in21 terest from all taxation (except estate and gift

22 taxes) by the United States;

23 (8) to fix, revise, charge, and collect any rea24 sonable toll or other charge;
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1 (9) to enter into any contract or agreement nec2 essary or appropriate to the performance of the du3 ties of the Authority, the proper operation of the

4 Bridge or a new crossing of the Potomac River de5 scribed in section 8;

6 (10) to make any payment necessary to reim7 burse a local political subdivision having jurisdiction

8 over an area where the Bridge or a new crossing of

9 the Potomac River is situated for any extraordinary

10 law enforcement cost incurred by the subdivision in

11 connection with the Authority facility;

12 (11) to enter into partnerships or grant conces13 sions between the public and private sectors for the

14 purpose of—

15 (A) financing, constructing, maintaining,

16 improving, or operating the Bridge or a new

17 crossing of the Potomac River described in sec18 tion 8; or

19 (B) fostering development of a new trans20 portation technology;

21 (12) to obtain any necessary Federal authoriza22 tion, permit, or approval for the construction, repair,

23 maintenance, or operation of the Bridge or a new

24 crossing of the Potomac River described in section

25 8;
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1 (13) to adopt an official seal and alter the seal,

2 as the Board considers appropriate;

3 (14) to appoint 1 or more advisory committees;

4 (15) to sue and be sued in the name of the Au5 thority; and

6 (16) to carry out any activity necessary or ap7 propriate to the exercise of the powers or perform8 ance of the duties of the Authority under this Act

9 and under any interstate agreement or compact re10 lating to the Authority that is consistent with this

11 Act, if the activity is coordinated and consistent with

12 the transportation planning process implemented by

13 the metropolitan planning organization for the

14 Washington, District of Columbia, metropolitan area

15 under section 134 of title 23, United States Code,

16 and section 5303 of title 49, United States Code.

17 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

18 (a) WITHDRAWAL.—A Capital Region jurisdiction

19 may withdraw from the Authority if—

20 (1) the Capital Region jurisdiction provides

21 written notice to the Authority of the intent to with22 draw not less than 1 year prior to the withdrawal;

23 (2) as of the date of the withdrawal—
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1 (A) no Federal funds have been obligated

2 with respect to an uncompleted project under

3 the jurisdiction of the Authority; and

4 (B) no note, bond, or other financial obli5 gation of the Authority is outstanding; and

6 (3) a majority of the Board votes to agree to

7 the withdrawal.

8 (b) TERMINATION.—If a Capital Region jurisdiction

9 withdraws from the Authority under subsection (a), the

10 Authority shall—

11 (1) reconvey the Bridge to the Secretary;

12 (2) if any funds of the Authority remain unobli13 gated, repay the funds to each Capital Region juris14 diction in proportion to the funds contributed by the

15 Capital Region jurisdiction to the Authority; and

16 (3) terminate.

17 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated from the Highway Trust Fund established by sec20 tion 9503 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 such

21 sums as are necessary to pay the Federal share deter22 mined under section 7(c).

23 (b) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23.—Funds made

24 available under this section shall be available for obligation
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1 in the manner provided for funds apportioned under chap2 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, except that—

3 (1) the Federal share of the cost of any activity

4 carried out under section 8 shall be determined in

5 accordance with section 7(c); and

6 (2) the funds made available under this section

7 shall remain available until expended.

8 SEC. 12. AVAILABILITY OF PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS.

9 In addition to the funds made available under section

10 11, any funds made available for the rehabilitation of the

11 Bridge under sections 1069(i) and 1103(b) of the Inter12 modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

13 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 2009 and 2028) shall

14 continue to be available after the conveyance of the Bridge

15 to the Authority under section 7(a), in accordance with

16 the terms under which the funds were made available

17 under the Act.

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