Metro Accountability and Investment Act

Bill: 116-hr-2520
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. [D-VA-11]
Introduced: 2019-05-03
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Congressional oversight

District of Columbia

Government ethics and transparency, public corruption

Government information and archives

Intergovernmental relations

Maryland

Performance measurement

Public transit

State and local government operations

Transportation programs funding

Virginia
Latest action: action_date: 2019-05-06
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-05-03
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Metro Accountability and Investment Act </b></p> <p>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.</p> <p>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</p> <ul> <li>establishes an independent budget authority, procurement authority, and independent hiring authority for the Office of Inspector General of WMATA; </li> <li>ensures the inspector general can obtain legal advice from a counsel reporting directly to the office; and</li> <li>requires the inspector general to submit recommendations for corrective action to the General Manager, the board, and Congress, and to publish any recommendations on the office's website, with redactions to prevent security risks.</li> </ul> <p>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.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2520 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Metro Accountability and Investment Act . 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. . 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).