Congress won’t be cutting big checks anytime soon to help D.C.'s troubled Metro system cover its operating costs, House lawmakers warned Wednesday.
“I tell you: I am not going to bail you out,” shouted Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of a House Oversight transportation panel, during a hearing about the sometimes life-threatening safety and maintenance woes that forced a daylong shutdown of Metro's rail system last month. He ripped into Metro officials, saying they had millions of dollars in funding on-hand but didn't spend it as needed.
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Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly fired back at Mica for trying to pin Metro's financial burden on D.C., Maryland and Virginia, which help pay for the system's operations. He noted the system’s benefit to the federal government.
“He says he doesn’t want a burden on his people,” Connolly said. “Well, I don’t want a burden on mine.”
At the hearing, Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans pleaded with lawmakers to boost their contribution to the beleaguered system’s operations account, which lacks a steady funding stream despite sprawling over three jurisdictions. Evans says the feds should contribute $300 million annually for operational needs.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has received congressional appropriations for capital projects since 2008, in addition to grant money from the Federal Transit Administration for upgrades, but typically gets no funding for running the system aside from fare revenues and its state and local government support.
Mica said Metro’s unliquidated balance as of mid-March was $783 million. WMATA officials couldn’t immediately verify that number.
Local lawmakers have generally trod carefully when talking about Congress’ role in boosting WMATA’s accounts, saying the agency should demonstrate a better safety record and command of its finances before getting more money from them. Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, has been key to securing $150 million annually since 2008 for capital projects at Metro, but the money can’t be used for operating expenses.
“When you do the math, your United States Senate and the taxpayers of America have provided over $1 billion for Metro,” Mikulski said Wednesday at a meeting with Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld before the House hearing. “So we not only want to know if we’ll be getting our money’s worth, but we really do care about the constituents and the riders — about what is going on.”
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Evans said Metro’s high operating costs are in part due to its size — it’s the second-largest transit system in the United States. If Congress doesn’t increase its commitment to Metro, he said, “next time something happens, I’m blaming it on you guys.”
Referring to Mica’s complaint about nearly $800 million of unspent money, Wiedefeld said Metro can be under contract to receive major purchases — such as new buses or rail cars — and the cash doesn’t immediately flow out if, for example, it’s still waiting to receive the products. So the money has been obligated for specific projects.
“I just would urge you quickly to help dispel this myth of, you’re sitting on a lot of capital and you don’t know what to do with it,” Connolly said.
Evans said after the hearing that he thinks he cut through the bombast enough to make his point — that the federal government needs Metro just as much as the system needs lawmakers’ help.
“I think people left here with more information than they came with and hopefully will act,” he said. “It’s not that we’re just up here having fun. If they don’t act, we’re going to run out of money and the system is going to be less and less reliable.”
