[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E451-E452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RETIREMENT OF JOHN B. CATOE, JR., FROM THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA 
                           TRANSIT AUTHORITY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 23, 2010

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize John B. Catoe, Jr., 
who was born and raised in the District of Columbia and returned home 
to one of the toughest jobs in Washington, the General Manager of the 
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro, which 
includes the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess systems). Mr. Catoe is 
retiring from the agency he led into a new era, the transition from 
construction of the system toward a core mission of safely operating 
and modernizing the system. Undertaking such a dramatic change in 
culture, attitude, and mission is not for the faint of heart. John 
Catoe was the first general manager of WMATA to take this giant leap 
forward, and doing so has not been an easy task.
  He met the problems of WMATA as he walked into the agency. The agency 
itself had churned through four general managers in the span of about a 
year. In the weeks before and after his arrival in January 2007, four 
pedestrians were fatally struck by Metrobuses. A train derailed, 
sending 20 people to the hospital. Fire and smoke caused major delays 
during the morning commute on the busiest Metrorail line. A Metrobus 
caught fire. Reports of three suspicious packages disrupted the morning 
commute on a busy day.
  Mr. Catoe convened weekend safety meetings with bus operators and 
supervisors. He established a mentor program for new bus operators, and 
saw to it that more than 3,200 bus operators were trained to understand 
traffic from a pedestrian's perspective. His intense efforts 
effectively put an end to the spate of pedestrian fatalities involving 
Metrobus.
  Catoe faced nearly insurmountable challenges with grace and strength. 
He expertly navigated a political thicket within the highest levels of 
government when billions of dollars in funding were at stake for the 
extension of Metrorail to Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport. Those 
extensions will go forward due in no small part to John Catoe's 
leadership.
  He helped bring a successful conclusion to the five-year effort to 
secure a source of dedicated funding for WMATA, which has been

[[Page E452]]

authorized to receive $3 billion from the federal government and from 
WMATA's jurisdictional partners. He staved off an attempt by the 
nation's financial industry to collect hundreds of millions of dollars 
during the financial crisis of 2008 from leaseback transactions entered 
into by public transit systems. As a result of his leadership both on 
Capitol Hill and in the national media, the public transportation 
industry was saved from a financial domino effect that would have 
devastated not only WMATA but also major transit systems across the 
country.
  Nearly every major political and historic event that took place in 
Washington, DC, over the past three years has been a success due, in 
part, to John Catoe. When a new ballpark opened to serve Washington's 
first baseball team in 40 years, Metro rose to the occasion, and a trip 
to the ballpark on Metro became part of the entire Nationals 
experience. When Pope Benedict XVI chose Washington, DC, as the first 
city in the United States to visit after his investiture, security 
needs led to restricted travel around the city. With street closures 
and tight security, Metro was the primary way that hundreds of 
thousands of people were able to be a part of the historic visit.
  With each of these events, John Catoe was preparing his team for the 
next opportunity for WMATA to take part in history. At the same time, 
he was undertaking the painstaking work of transforming his agency from 
one that for years had construction at its center to one whose primary 
mission was safe operation.
  Glimmers of that realignment and evidence of John Catoe's leadership 
manifested during the most successful week in Metro's history. Metro's 
performance was nearly flawless in January 2009, for the most historic 
Inauguration in modern history, as Metro provided a record 17 hours of 
rush hour rail service; a unique type of rapid bus service on 23 
priority corridors; and special outreach to passengers with 
disabilities to ensure that they too were part of the most inclusive 
Inauguration in history. The results of John Catoe's leadership on that 
day speak for themselves: 1.5 million trips were taken on trains, 
buses, and paratransit, as millions of people from around the world 
gathered to witness the historic Inauguration of Barack Obama as 
President of the United States.
  It seems fitting to me that John Catoe was at the helm of Metro when 
President Obama was inaugurated. Mr. Catoe grew up in a segregated 
Washington, DC. When he was a young soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve, 
John Catoe was denied entry into a restaurant in Maryland while fellow 
white soldiers were permitted inside. Through all of his experiences, 
John Catoe retained a quiet confidence and serene grace that have 
sustained him in times of volatility.
  This strength was needed on June 22, 2009, when a rail crash took the 
lives of nine people, including a Metrorail operator. The weeks and 
months that ensued have been grueling for families of victims, 
survivors, and the entire Metro family, particularly its leader, John 
Catoe. The investigation into that accident continues, and we hope that 
there will soon be an opportunity to remedy the problems that caused 
the accident, so that we can prevent others, not only at Metro, but at 
transit systems around the world. We in the region have been grateful 
for John Catoe's compassion during an especially tough period and for 
his resolve to get to the root of whatever problems exist.
  In Washington, DC, the capital of the free world, we deserve the 
finest executives for our public transportation system. John B. Catoe, 
Jr., is a rare breed of leader who has proven not only that he can 
deliver results within the highest echelons of governance, but perhaps 
more importantly, that he can do so with humility, strength, and grace. 
This city and this region have been blessed by his leadership. I ask, 
therefore, that my colleagues join me and the National Capital Region 
in expressing gratitude to John Catoe for his work in leading Metro 
into a new era.

                          ____________________