[House Report 115-228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress     }                                           {  Report
                          HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session       }                                           { 115-228

======================================================================

 
 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

                                _______
                                

   July 17, 2017.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Goodlatte, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                      [To accompany H.J. Res. 92]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred 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, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the joint resolution do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     2
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     2
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     4
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     4
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     4

                          Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of H.J. Res. 92 is to grant Congress' approval 
of amendments to the Washington Area Transit Regulation Compact 
adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland 
and the District of Columbia pursuant to the requirements of 
the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act; Pub. 
L. No. 114-94).

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    In addition to numerous other matters, the FAST Act 
addressed procedures for the appointment of federal directors 
to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) 
board of directors. Specifically, section 3026 of the FAST Act 
transferred from the Administrator of General Services to the 
Secretary of Transportation sole authority to appoint federal 
directors. The section further required the WMATA jurisdictions 
of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia to adopt as 
necessary conforming amendments to the Washington Metropolitan 
Area Transit Regulation Compact (WATR Compact).
    Legislation recently enacted by the State of Maryland, the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia contains 
the needed WATR Compact amendments. H.J. Res. 92 grants 
Congress' approval to these amendments to complete the FAST 
Act's transfer of appointment authority to the Secretary of 
Transportation.

                                Hearings

    The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.J. 
Res. 92.

                        Committee Consideration

    On June 14, 2017, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 92) favorably reported 
without amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there 
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of 
H.J. Res. 92.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does 
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax 
expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.J. Res. 92, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 21, 2017.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.J. Res. 92, a joint 
resolution 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.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sarah Puro, 
who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
Enclosure
cc:
        Honorable John Conyers Jr.
        Ranking Member




 H.J. Res. 92--A joint resolution 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.


As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on June 14, 
                                 2017.




    H.J. Res. 92 would grant Congressional consent to 
amendments made to the compact between Maryland, Virginia, and 
the District of Columbia that governs transit regulation in the 
Washington D.C. metro area.
    The amendments would bring the compact into compliance with 
current federal law that requires the Department of 
Transportation, rather than the General Services Administration 
to appoint the federal directors to the governing body of the 
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Based on 
information from those agencies, CBO estimates that 
implementing the changes in the compact would have no effect on 
the federal budget.
    Enacting H.J. Res. 92 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting H.J. Res. 92 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sarah Puro. The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    No provision of H.J. Res. 92 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the Federal government known to be duplicative of 
another Federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program 
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The Committee estimates that H.J. Res. 92 specifically 
directs to be completed no specific rule makings within the 
meaning of 5 U.S.C. Sec. 551.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.J. 
Res. 92 completes the process of adoption of Washington Area 
Transit Regulation Compact amendments required by section 3026 
the FAST Act.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.J. Res. 92 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    The following discussion describes the joint resolution as 
reported by the Committee.
    Section 1. Findings. Section 1 sets forth findings that 
amendments to the WATR compact regarding director appointments 
were required by the FAST Act and that the WATR jurisdictions 
have adopted the necessary conforming compact amendments.
    Sec. 2. Consent of Congress to Compact Amendments. Section 
2 approves the specific amendment language adopted by the 
jurisdictions.
    Sec. 3. Right to Alter, Amend or Repeal. Section 3 
expressly reserves Congress' right to alter, amend, or repeal 
the joint resolution and provides that Congress' consent to the 
compact amendments shall not be construed to impair or affect 
Congress' authority in and over the region forming the subject 
of the compact.
    Sec. 4. Construction and Severability. Section 4 provides a 
liberal rule of construction for the compact and a rule of 
severability to apply if one or more provisions of the compact 
or its enabling legislation are held invalid.
    Sec. 5. Inconsistency of Language. Section 5 provides that 
the compact's validity shall not be affected by insubstantial 
differences in its form or language as adopted by the separate 
WMATA jurisdictions.
    Sec. 6. Effective Date. Section 6 provides that the 
resolution shall be effective upon its enactment.