Title: Metro Accountability and Investment Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Metro Accountability and Investment Act
This bill authorizes additional funding to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide grants to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for capital and preventive maintenance projects.
DOT may not provide such grants until it annually certifies that the Board of Directors of WMATA has passed a resolution, and is making progress implementing such resolution, that
DOT may provide additional grants to WMATA for the purpose of funding the capital and preventive maintenance projects included in the Capital Improvement Program approved by the board.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2520 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2520

 To authorize additional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area 
               Transit Authority, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 3, 2019

  Mr. Connolly (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, Ms. Norton, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. 
 Beyer, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Wexton, and Mr. Trone) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize additional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area 
               Transit Authority, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Metro Accountability and Investment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.

    Section 601(f) of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act 
of 2008 (Public Law 110-432; 122 Stat. 4970) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(f) Amount.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Original funding.--There are authorized to be 
                appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 
                grants under this section an aggregate amount not to 
                exceed $1,500,000,000 to be available in increments 
                over 10 fiscal years beginning in fiscal year 2009, or 
                until expended.
                    ``(B) Continuation of funding.--Subject to 
                paragraphs (2) and (3), there are authorized to be 
                appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 
                grants under this section $2,000,000,000 to be 
                available in increments over 10 fiscal years beginning 
                in fiscal year 2020, or until expended.
            ``(2) Restriction on use.--
                    ``(A) Operating expenses.--$500,000,000 of the 
                amount described in paragraph (1)(B) may only be used 
                for operating expenses of the Transit Authority.
                    ``(B) Inspector general.--$100,000,000 of the 
                amount described in subparagraph (A) may only be used 
                for the Office of Inspector General of the Transit 
                Authority.
            ``(3) Required modifications.--The Secretary may not 
        provide grants pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) unless the 
        Secretary certifies that the Board of Directors of the Transit 
        Authority has passed a resolution, and is making progress 
        implementing such a resolution, that--
                    ``(A) establishes an independent budget authority 
                for the Office of Inspector General of the Transit 
                Authority;
                    ``(B) establishes an independent procurement 
                authority for the Office of Inspector General of the 
                Transit Authority;
                    ``(C) establishes an independent hiring authority 
                for the Office of Inspector General of the Transit 
                Authority;
                    ``(D) ensures the inspector general of the Transit 
                Authority can obtain legal advice from a counsel 
                reporting directly to the director of such office;
                    ``(E) requires the inspector general of the Transit 
                Authority to submit recommendations for corrective 
                action to the General Manager, the Board of Directors 
                of the Transit Authority, and the appropriate 
                congressional committees; and
                    ``(F) requires the inspector general of the Transit 
                Authority to publish any recommendation described in 
                subparagraph (E) on the website of the Office of 
                Inspector General of the Transit Authority, except that 
                the Inspector General may redact personally 
                identifiable information and information that, in the 
                determination of the Inspector General, would pose a 
                security risk to the systems of the Transit Authority.
            ``(4) Special rule for certain funds.--The amounts 
        described in paragraph (2) are not subject to the requirements 
        of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b).
            ``(5) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 
        `appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on 
        Transportation and Infrastructure, the Committee on Oversight 
        and Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
        Urban Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate.''.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--In addition to other funding provided to the 
Transit Authority pursuant to any other provision of law, the Secretary 
of Transportation may make grants to the Transit Authority for the 
purpose of funding the capital and preventive maintenance projects 
included in the Capital Improvement Program approved by the Board of 
Directors of the Transit Authority.
    (b) Use of Funds.--A grant made pursuant to this section shall be 
subject to the following limitations and conditions:
            (1) The work for which such grant is authorized shall be 
        subject to the provisions of the Compact, including any future 
        amendments to the Compact.
            (2) Each such grant shall be for 50 percent of the net 
        project cost of the project involved, and shall be provided in 
        cash from sources other than Federal funds or revenues from the 
        operation of public mass transportation systems. Consistent 
        with the terms of the amendment to the Compact, or any future 
        amendments to such Compact, any funds so provided shall be 
        solely from undistributed cash surpluses, replacement or 
        depreciation funds of reserves available in cash, or new 
        capital.
    (c) Applicability of Requirements for Mass Transportation Capital 
Projects Receiving Funds Under Federal Transportation Law.--Except as 
specifically provided in this section, the use of any amounts 
appropriated pursuant to the authorization under this section shall be 
subject to the requirements applicable to capital projects for which 
funds are provided under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, 
except to the extent the Secretary determines that the requirements are 
inconsistent with this Act, its purposes, or any subsequent rules of 
guidance issued pursuant to this Act.
    (d) Amount and Requirement.--
            (1) Amount.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Secretary of Transportation for grants under this section 
        $2,000,000,000 to be available in increments over 20 fiscal 
        years beginning in fiscal year 2020, or until expended.
            (2) Requirements.--The Secretary may not award a grant 
        authorized under this subsection unless the Secretary 
        certifies, on an annual basis, that--
                    (A) the Transit Authority is making progress toward 
                goals and metrics for system performance established by 
                the Secretary in collaboration with the signatories to 
                the Compact on safety, reliability, and operation costs 
                as measured by vehicle revenue hours; and
                    (B) the signatories to the Compact have established 
                a dedicated funding source for capital projects for the 
                Transit Authority that is expected to raise, in total, 
                at least $300,000,000 annually.
    (e) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization under this section shall remain available until expended.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Transit Authority'' means the Washington 
        Metropolitan Area Transit Authority established under Article 
        III of the Compact; and
            (2) the term ``Compact'' means the Washington Metropolitan 
        Area Transit Authority Compact (Public Law 89-774; 80 Stat. 
        1324).
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