Congressional Record, Volume 163 Issue 120 (Monday, July 17, 2017)

[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 120 (Monday, July 17, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H5892-H5894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

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GRANTING CONSENT AND APPROVAL OF CONGRESS TO AMEND WASHINGTON AREA
TRANSIT REGULATION COMPACT

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
joint resolution (H.J. Res. 92) granting the consent and approval of
Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and
the District of Columbia to amend the Washington Area Transit
Regulation Compact.
The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
The text of the joint resolution is as follows

H.J. Res. 92

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Congress in title III of the Fixing America's Surface
Transportation Act (section 3026, Public Law 114-94) provided
sole authority to the Secretary of Transportation to appoint
Federal Directors to the Board of Directors of the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and required the
signatory parties to the Compact to amend the Compact as
necessary.
(2) Legislation enacted by the State of Maryland, the
Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia
contains the amendments to the Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Regulation Compact pursuant to section 3026(b) of the
Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (Public Law 114-
94).

SEC. 2. CONSENT OF CONGRESS TO COMPACT AMENDMENTS.

(a) Consent.--Consent of Congress is given to the
amendments of the State of Maryland, the amendments of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, and the amendments of the District
of Columbia to section 5, of title III of the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact.
(b) Amendments.--The amendments referred to in subsection
(a) amending section 5 of such Compact are substantially as
follows:
``(a) The Authority shall be governed by a Board of eight
Directors consisting of two Directors for each Signatory and
two for the Federal Government (one of whom shall be a
regular passenger and customer of the bus or rail service of
the Authority). For Virginia, the Directors shall be
appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission;
for the District of Columbia by the Council of the District
of Columbia; for Maryland, by the Washington Suburban Transit
Commission; and for the Federal Government, by the Secretary
of the United States Department of Transportation. For
Virginia and Maryland, the Directors shall be appointed from
among the members of the appointing body, except as otherwise
provided herein, and shall serve for a term coincident with
their term on the appointing body. A Director for a Signatory
may be removed or suspended from office only as provided by
the law of the Signatory from which he was appointed. The
non-Federal appointing authorities shall also appoint an
alternate for each Director. In addition, the Secretary of
the United States Department of Transportation shall also
appoint two nonvoting members who shall serve as the
alternates for the Federal Directors. An alternate Director
may act only in the absence of the Director for whom he has
been appointed an alternate, except that, in the case of the
District of Columbia where only one Director and his
alternate are present, such alternate may act on behalf of
the absent Director. Each alternate, including the Federal
nonvoting Directors, shall serve at the pleasure of the
appointing authority. In the event of a vacancy in the Office
of Director or alternate, it shall be filled in the same
manner as an original appointment.
``(b) Before entering upon the duties of his office each
Director and alternate director shall take and subscribe to
the following oath (or affirmation) of office or any such
other oath or affirmation, if any, as the Constitution or
laws of the Government he represents shall provide: `I,
____________________, hereby solemnly swear (or affirm) that
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United
States and the Constitution and Laws of the state or
political jurisdiction from which I was appointed as a
Director (alternate director) of the Board of Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and will faithfully
discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to
enter.'.''.

SEC. 3. RIGHT TO ALTER, AMEND, OR REPEAL.

The right to alter, amend, or repeal this joint resolution
is expressly reserved. The consent granted by this joint
resolution shall not be construed as impairing or in any
manner affecting any right or jurisdiction of the United
States in and over the region that forms the subject of the
Compact.

SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY.

It is intended that the provisions of this Compact shall be
reasonably and liberally construed to effectuate the purposes
thereof. If any part or application of this Compact, or
legislation enabling the Compact, is held invalid, the
remainder of the Compact or its application to other
situations or persons shall not be affected.

SEC. 5. INCONSISTENCY OF LANGUAGE.

The validity of this Compact shall not be affected by any
insubstantial differences in its form or language as adopted
by the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and
the District of Columbia.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This joint resolution shall take effect on the date of
enactment of this joint resolution.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of New York). Pursuant to the
rule, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman
from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.

General Leave

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on H.J. Res. 92, currently under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.J. Res. 92, introduced by my Virginia colleague,
Representative Comstock, concerns the Washington-area transit system.
The resolution makes needed administrative amendments to the
longstanding Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact.

[[Page H5893]]

These amendments are required under section 3026 of the Fixing
America's Surface Transportation, or FAST, Act. That section
transferred from the Administrator of General Services to the Secretary
of Transportation sole authority to appoint Federal directors to the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board of directors. It
further required Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to
adopt any necessary conforming amendments to the Washington Area
Transit Regulation Compact.
The jurisdictions adopted the needed amendments as required. H.J.
Res. 92 accordingly grants Congress' approval to the amendments.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I
thank Members on both sides of the aisle, including Congresswoman
Comstock, for their good work on this.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 92. I thank my
colleague from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock), the chairman of the committee,
for leading this measure, and I am very happy to lend my support to the
resolution.
This resolution would grant congressional consent to amendments to
the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact Authority
pursuant to legislation already enacted by the District of Columbia,
Maryland, and Virginia, respectively.
Established in 1967, the WMATA is an interstate compact agency
responsible for operating the mass transit system for the Washington
Metropolitan area.
As part of a broader effort to promote safety and efficiency in the
WMATA Metrorail system, Congress transferred appointment authority for
the WMATA board of directors to the Secretary of Transportation through
enactment of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act in 2015,
the so-called FAST Act. Under the FAST Act, Congress also directed the
WMATA jurisdictions to adopt conforming compact amendments.
H.J. Res. 92 is a bipartisan measure that would grant Congress'
consent to these amendments to the WMATA compact.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock), who is the chief sponsor
of the legislation.
Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my resolution, H.J.
Res. 92, which lends congressional approval to an amendment made to the
WMATA interstate compact.
As was mentioned, the last iteration of the highway bill, the FAST
Act, contained a provision that directed Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.
to amend the compact to change appointment authority for the Federal
directors on the WMATA board from the administrator of the GSA to the
more appropriate Secretary of Transportation.
This was a very commonsense change that was made in light of recent
incidents and accidents and the real need to have a top priority for
safety.
The Secretary of Transportation, I believe, is in a much better
position to appoint directors to the Metro board than the administrator
of the GSA. The States of Virginia and Maryland as well as D.C.
complied with this directive and amended the compact, and we are all in
agreement here.
The previous Secretary of Transportation last year appointed two very
well-qualified candidates to serve as the Federal directors on the
WMATA board.
The final legal step that we are taking today here in this equation
is for Congress to lend its approval to the change, and that is what
this resolution does.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton)
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend Representative
Jamie Raskin for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, I was ranking member of the subcommittee that had
jurisdiction over the FAST Act when we received the request from the
region--the Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia region--to
transfer the authority to appoint directors to the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board from the GSA to the
Department of Transportation.
For the life of me, I can't remember why this authority was given to
the GSA in the first place. But it may have been because WMATA was
considered simply an agency of interest to the Federal Government.
On consideration, under the FAST Act, we agreed that the Department
of Transportation was, by far, the more appropriate agency to appoint
Federal directors--understand there are local directors--but Federal
directors to WMATA. There are also Federal directors to the WMATA
board.
This is of great interest to the region. I recognize it is not
monumental for the Congress, but the region very much needs this joint
resolution. All three jurisdictions--the District of Columbia,
Maryland, and Virginia--have made their administrative changes, but
these changes need to be confirmed by this body.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Comstock for her leadership with this joint
resolution, and I ask that the entire body approve it
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to, again, commend Mrs.
Comstock for her leadership on this legislation. I thank all of our
fellow members in the regional delegation in Maryland, Virginia, and
the District of Columbia for their collaborative work on this issue,
and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte for facilitating the
resolution's consideration by both the committee and the House.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this fine
legislation.
I thank everybody for their good work, and I yield back the balance
of my time
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 92.
This Resolution would grant Congress' consent to certain amendments
to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact
Authority pursuant to legislation enacted by the District of Columbia,
Maryland, and Virginia, respectively.
Congress originally consented to this Compact in 1960 and--from time-
to-time--the Compact has been amended with Congress' consent, as
needed.
The current necessity for H.J. Res. 92 is prompted by the enactment
of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015.
In pertinent part, this Act gave sole authority to the Secretary of
Transportation to appoint federal directors to the board of directors
of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact.
To implement this directive, each of the Compact participants had to
enact legislation amending the Compact.
H.J. Res. 92 grants Congress' consent to these amendments to the
Compact as approved by each of the participating states and the
District of Columbia.
This bipartisan measure, which effectuates Congress' directive of
2015, is cosponsored by all of the Congressional Members representing
jurisdictions affected by the Metrorail system.
I support this commonsense measure and I urge its swift passage. I
commend Representative Comstock for her leadership on this important
legislation and I thank House Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte for
facilitating its timely consideration by both the Committee and the
House.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I support H.J. Res. 92 granting consent
and approval from Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State
of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to amend the Washington Area
Transit Regulation Compact.
As Houston is a major transportation hub, I understand and appreciate
the importance of this legislation.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), an
interstate compact agency, provides transportation services to millions
of people each year.
It is imperative that the WMATA be safe and effective because it is
essential to the commerce and prosperity of the National Capitol
Region.
The District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State
of Maryland intend to create the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission
to act as the state safety oversight authority for the WMATA system
under 49 U.S.C. 5329.
In title III of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act
(section 3026, Public Law 114-94), the Congress provided sole authority
to the Secretary of Transportation to appoint Federal Directors to the
Board of Directors of

[[Page H5894]]

the WMATA and required the signatory parties to the Compact to amend
the Compact as necessary.
This compact is created for the benefit of the people of the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland so
that there may be an increase in their safety, commerce, and
prosperity.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.J. Res. 92
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 92.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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