I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3971
To reduce traffic congestion, promote economic development, and improve
the quality of life in the metropolitan Washington region.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 22, 1998
Mr. MORAN of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To reduce traffic congestion, promote economic development,
and improve the quality of life in the metropolitan Wash-
ington region.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Metropolitan
Washington Regional Transportation Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) congestion is a serious problem in the met-
ropolitan Washington region, as evidenced by recent
studies that have found that only the city of Los An-
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geles is more congested and that congestion costs
each man, woman, and child in the region more than
$800 per year in lost time, wasted fuel, and environ-
mental damage;
(2) in the past, regional leaders have success-
fully worked together to address important transpor-
tation needs, through such institutions as the Metro-
politan Washington Airports Authority, the Wash-
ington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and the
National Capital Region Transportation Planning
Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments;
(3) even greater regional cooperation is needed
to prevent congestion in the metropolitan Washing-
ton region from worsening, in light of predictions
that, for the period of 1990 through 2020, there will
be a 43 percent increase in population, a 43 percent
increase in employment, and a 79 percent increase
in vehicle miles traveled, in the region;
(4) while transportation needs will grow signifi-
cantly over the next decades, spending is expected to
fall short of transportation needs by more than
$500,000,000 per year, even with expected increases
in Federal and State spending;
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(5) none of the existing metropolitan-wide
transportation agencies within the metropolitan
Washington region has the necessary powers, au-
thorities, and resources to meet the current and fu-
ture transportation needs of the region;
(6) the failure to meet the transportation needs
of the metropolitan Washington region will under-
mine the quality of life of the residents of the region,
degrade the natural environment, and adversely af-
fect the ability of Federal agencies and private sec-
tor businesses to operate effectively and efficiently;
(7) the transportation challenges faced by the
metropolitan Washington region are unique and de-
serve the attention of Congress because of the pres-
ence of the Federal Government within the region
and because of the intersection of 3 jurisdictions,
consisting of 2 States and the District of Columbia,
within a single metropolitan area;
(8) the National Capital Region Transportation
Planning Board at the Metropolitan Washington
Council of Governments, the designated metropolitan
planning organization for planning and program-
ming Federal transit and highway funds provided to
the metropolitan Washington region, is updating the
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long-range plan for the region to meet transpor-
tation needs in the coming decades; and
(9) with Federal assistance, the Board can
more effectively promote regional agreement on how
to finance and implement its long-range plan to
meet the transportation needs of the metropolitan
Washington region.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this subtitle are—
(1) to provide a new option to help the metro-
politan Washington region more effectively address
its transportation needs;
(2) to empower the National Capital Region
Transportation Planning Board to consult with the
metropolitan Washington region jurisdictions and
the public to achieve consensus on a list of critical
transportation projects and a funding mechanism
that are needed to address the growing congestion
crisis in the region but cannot be funded within the
current and forecasted federal, state and local fund-
ing levels for such projects;
(3) to establish a Corporation with the power to
accept revenue and issue debt to provide short-term
funding for projects that have been agreed to by the
region;
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(4) to grant consent to the metropolitan Wash-
ington region jurisdictions to enter into an interstate
compact or agreement that would help meet the re-
gion’s long-term transportation needs; and
(5) to provide federal matching grants to the
region to promote consensus on a regional funding
mechanism.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na-
tional Capital Region Transportation Planning
Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments.
(2) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘corporation’’
means 
the 
Metropolitan 
Washington 
Regional
Transportation Corporation established by section
6(a).
(3) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION; RE-
GION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan Washington region’’
or ‘‘region’’ means the area that is—
(A) located in the area including and sur-
rounding Washington, District of Columbia;
and
(B) under the jurisdiction of the members
of the Board.
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(4) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION JU-
RISDICTION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan Washington
region jurisdiction’’ means a jurisdiction represented
by a member of the Board.
(5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means any
effort to reduce traffic congestion or improve travel
options in the metropolitan Washington region, in-
cluding but not limited to: the design, construction,
and maintenance of facilities or services; the oper-
ation of such facilities; the provision of services; and
the deployment of demand reduction and traffic
management measures.
(6) SIGNATORY.—The term ‘‘Signatory’’ means
a metropolitan Washington region jurisdiction that
enters into an interstate agreement or compact
under section 6(b).
SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE BOARD.
(a) DUTIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall—
(A)(i) propose a list of transportation
projects needed to address the growing conges-
tion crisis in the metropolitan Washington re-
gion;
(ii) propose a regional funding mecha-
nism(s) to fund needed projects;
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(2)(A) ensure that the public has a full oppor-
tunity to participate in the planning process; and
(B) work with citizen advisory committees rep-
resenting all points of view, including business, envi-
ronmental, transportation, senior citizens, youth,
disabled, and neighborhood associations.
SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF LONG-RANGE PLAN FOR THE
METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION.
(a) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGIONAL TRANS-
PORTATION CORPORATION.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the
Metropolitan Washington Regional Transportation
Corporation.
(2) GENERAL POWERS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall
be a body corporate and politic, and an instru-
mentality of the Board, having the powers and
jurisdiction described in this subtitle and such
additional powers as are conferred on the Cor-
poration by the Board, to the extent that the
additional powers are consistent with this sub-
title.
(B) ADMINISTRATION.—The Corporation
shall be governed in accordance with this sub-
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title and shall be subject to such other provi-
sions as the Board determines appropriate.
(3) GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—The Corporation
shall not have the power to—
(A) impose a tax; or
(B) preempt any Federal, State, or local
law (including a regulation).
(4) DUTIES.—The Corporation shall assist in
the management of any initial funding and imple-
mentation plan agreed to by the Signatories.
(5) PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.—
(A) PUBLIC
NOTICE
AND
PARTICIPA-
TION.—The Corporation shall be subject to the
requirements of chapter 5 of title 5, United
States Code, concerning public notice of, and
participation at, all meetings of the Corpora-
tion.
(B) FREEDOM
OF
INFORMATION
ACT.—
The Corporation shall be considered to be an
agency for the purpose of compliance with re-
quests under section 552 of title 5, United
States Code.
(6) POWERS.—The Corporation shall have the
power—
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(A) to acquire personal and real property
(including land lying under water and riparian
rights), or any easement or other interest in
real property, by purchase, lease, gift, transfer,
or exchange;
(B) to apply for and accept any property,
material, 
service, 
payment, 
appropriation,
grant, gift, loan, advance, or other fund that is
transferred or made available to the Corpora-
tion by the Federal Government or by any other
public or private entity or individual;
(C) to borrow money on a short-term basis
and issue notes of the Corporation for the bor-
rowing payable on such terms and conditions as
the Corporation considers advisable, and to
issue long-term or short-term tax-exempt bonds
in the discretion of the Corporation for any
purpose consistent with this subtitle, which
notes and bonds—
(i) shall not constitute—
(I) a debt of the United States
(or any political subdivision of the
United States); or
(II) a general obligation of a
metropolitan Washington region juris-
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diction (or any political subdivision of
a metropolitan Washington region ju-
risdiction), unless consented to by the
jurisdiction (or political subdivision);
and
(ii) may be secured solely by the gen-
eral revenues of the Corporation or by
other revenues in the discretion of the Cor-
poration;
(D) to permit single-occupancy vehicles to
travel on high-occupancy lanes in the region,
if—
(i) the affected signatory or signato-
ries consent to charge tolls to single-occu-
pancy vehicles given access to high-occu-
pancy lanes;
(ii) the toll can be implemented in a
way that does not reduce the level of serv-
ice; and
(iii) the affected signatory or signato-
ries consent to use the toll revenues for re-
gional transportation projects;
(E) to enter into any contract or agree-
ment necessary or appropriate to the perform-
ance of the duties of the Corporation;
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(F) to enter into partnerships or grant
concessions between the public and private sec-
tors for the purpose of—
(i) financing, constructing, maintain-
ing, improving, or operating regional trans-
portation facilities in the metropolitan
Washington region; or
(ii) fostering development of a new
transportation technology;
(G) to obtain any necessary Federal au-
thorization, permit, or approval for the con-
struction, repair, maintenance, or operation of
regional transportation facilities in the metro-
politan Washington region;
(H) to adopt an official seal and alter the
seal, as the Corporation considers appropriate;
(I) to appoint 1 or more advisory commit-
tees;
(J) to sue and be sued in the name of the
Corporation;
(K) to carry out or contract with other en-
tities to carry out such maintenance of traffic
activities during construction of regional trans-
portation facilities in the metropolitan Washing-
ton region as are considered to be necessary by
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the Corporation to properly manage traffic and
minimize congestion, such as public information
campaigns, improvements designed to encour-
age appropriate use of alternative routes, use of
high occupancy vehicles and transit services,
and deployment and operation of intelligent
transportation system technologies; and
(L) to carry out any activity necessary or
appropriate to the exercise of the powers or per-
formance of the duties of the Corporation under
this subtitle and under any interstate compact
or agreement relating to the Corporation that is
consistent with this subtitle, if the activity is co-
ordinated and consistent with the transpor-
tation planning process implemented by the
metropolitan planning organization for the met-
ropolitan Washington region under section 134
of title 23, United States Code, and section
5303 of title 49, United States Code.
(7) STATE
AND
DISTRICT
OF
COLUMBIA
AP-
PROVAL OF ACTION BY THE TRANSPORTATION COR-
PORATION.—Any exercise of the powers granted
under section 6(a)(6) of this title must be approved
by the state departments of transportation in Vir-