[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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