DALLAS — Members of a House panel rebuffed a request Wednesday by the chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for $300 million per year of additional federal funding for operations of the transit agency.
Congress has allocated $150 million a year to the Metro system’s capital budget since 2008 but nothing for operational costs, WMATA chairman Jack Evans told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s transportation and public assets subcommittee.
“The federal government, an equal partner in governing the system with four board members, should contribute $300 million per year to the operating budget just like the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia,” Evans said.
Metro has estimated that it will require $25 billion over the next 10 years to run the system, address the critical safety issues identified by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Transit Administration, and catch up on deferred maintenance, Evans said.
“The agency also faces a $2.5 billion unfunded pension liability that it has no plan or ability to address,” he said.
The federal government contributed $6.4 billion of the $9.4 billion it cost to build the Metro system, which has been operating for 40 years, Evans said. State and local governments provided the remainder.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of transportation oversight panel, said WMATA does not need additional federal funding because it had a balance in its capital fund of $783 million as of mid-March. The District of Columbia has a $3 billion surplus, he said.
“I am not going to bail you out. There’s plenty of money available,” Mica said. “Virginia needs to step up to the plate. Maryland needs to stand up to the plate, and the District needs to step up to the plate. You sure as heck ain’t getting it out of my folks.”
Paul Wiedefeld, WMATA’s general manager, said most of the agency’s balance is dedicated to major equipment purchases that have been ordered but not yet delivered.
WMATA will use $64 million of the unspent capital funds to cover a portion of a projected $1.8 billion shortfall in the fiscal 2017 budget, Wiedefeld said.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said the three local jurisdictions already contribute for operations while the federal government, which benefits from the Metro system, does not.
“We don’t pay an operating subsidy. You [Mica] talk about burden on your people? Well, I don’t want a burden on mine,” Connolly said. “In Virginia, we pay the subsidies. While you care about your people, we care about ours.”
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., the District’s nonvoting representative, said the government would be unable to function if Metro service became unreliable.
“When Metro shuts down, the federal government shuts down,” she said.
Evans said 50% of the federal government employees in the area rely on the Metro to get to work.
“You want this [system] to be safe? You want this to be reliable?” Evans told the lawmakers. “Next time something happens, I’m blaming you guys.”
WMATA needs its own dedicated funding source to provide at least $1 billion per year for the transit agency, Evans said.
“I’ve put the region on notice,” he said. “Whether it’s a sales tax, property tax near Metro stations, gas tax, or a mix, a dedicated funding source is something that should have been set up before a single piece of track was laid.”
WMATA’s credit is rated A1 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA-minus by Standard & Poor’s. Outstanding debt includes $274.1 million of long-term bonds and $386.7 million of short-term notes.
