Metro Accountability and Investment Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 694 To amend the Passenger Rail Investment Improvement Act of 2008 to pro- hibit certain funding to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Au- thority until certain conditions are met, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 2, 2021 Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself, Mr. HOYER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BEYER, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. BROWN, Mr. RASKIN, and Mr. TRONE) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend the Passenger Rail Investment Improvement Act of 2008 to prohibit certain funding to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority until certain condi- tions are met, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Metro Accountability 4 and Investment Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:18 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H694.IH H694 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 694 IH SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION FOR CAPITAL AND PREVENTIVE 1 MAINTENANCE PROJECTS FOR WASHINGTON 2 METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY. 3 Section 601 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 4 Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–432) is 5 amended— 6 (1) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘The Federal’’ 7 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection 8 (f)(2), the Federal’’; 9 (2) by striking subsections (d) through (f) and 10 inserting the following: 11 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED BOARD APPROVAL.—No amounts 12 may be provided to the Transit Authority under this sec- 13 tion until the Transit Authority certifies to the Secretary 14 of Transportation that— 15 ‘‘(1) a board resolution has passed on or before 16 July 1, 2021, and is in effect for the period of July 17 1, 2022, through June 30, 2031, that— 18 ‘‘(A) establishes an independent budget au- 19 thority for the Office of Inspector General of 20 the Transit Authority; 21 ‘‘(B) establishes an independent procure- 22 ment authority for the Office of Inspector Gen- 23 eral of the Transit Authority; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H694.IH H694 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 694 IH ‘‘(C) establishes an independent hiring au- 1 thority for the Office of Inspector General of 2 the Transit Authority; 3 ‘‘(D) ensures the Inspector General of the 4 Transit Authority can obtain legal advice from 5 a counsel reporting directly to the Inspector 6 General; 7 ‘‘(E) requires the Inspector General of the 8 Transit Authority to submit recommendations 9 for corrective action to the General Manager 10 and the Board of Directors of the Transit Au- 11 thority; 12 ‘‘(F) requires the Inspector General of the 13 Transit Authority to publish any recommenda- 14 tion described in subparagraph (E) on the 15 website of the Office of Inspector General of the 16 Transit Authority, except that the Inspector 17 General may redact personally identifiable in- 18 formation and information that, in the deter- 19 mination of the Inspector General, would pose 20 a security risk to the systems of the Transit 21 Authority; 22 ‘‘(G) requires the Board of Directors of 23 the Transit Authority to provide written notice 24 to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:18 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H694.IH H694 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 694 IH structure of the House of Representatives and 1 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 2 Urban Affairs of the Senate not less than 30 3 days before the Board of Directors removes the 4 Inspector General of the Transit Authority, 5 which shall include the reasons for removal and 6 supporting documentation; and 7 ‘‘(H) prohibits the Board of Directors from 8 removing the Inspector General of the Transit 9 Authority unless the Board of Directors has 10 provided a 30-day written notification as de- 11 scribed in subparagraph (G) that documents— 12 ‘‘(i) a permanent incapacity; 13 ‘‘(ii) a neglect of duty; 14 ‘‘(iii) malfeasance; 15 ‘‘(iv) a conviction of a felony or con- 16 duct involving moral turpitude; 17 ‘‘(v) a knowing violation of a law or 18 regulation; 19 ‘‘(vi) gross mismanagement; 20 ‘‘(vii) a gross waste of funds; 21 ‘‘(viii) an abuse of authority; or 22 ‘‘(ix) inefficiency; and 23 ‘‘(2) the Code of Ethics for Members of the 24 WMATA Board of Directors passed on September 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H694.IH H694 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 694 IH 26, 2019, remains in effect, or the Inspector General 1 of the Transit Authority has been consulted on any 2 modifications to the Code of Ethics by the Board. 3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 5 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 6 grants under this section— 7 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2022, $150,000,000; 8 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 2023, $155,000,000; 9 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 2024, $160,000,000; 10 ‘‘(D) for fiscal year 2025, $165,000,000; 11 ‘‘(E) for fiscal year 2026, $170,000,000; 12 ‘‘(F) for fiscal year 2027, $175,000,000; 13 ‘‘(G) for fiscal year 2028, $180,000,000; 14 ‘‘(H) for fiscal year 2029, $185,000,000; 15 ‘‘(I) for fiscal year 2030, $190,000,000; 16 and 17 ‘‘(J) for fiscal year 2031, $200,000,000. 18 ‘‘(2) SET ASIDE FOR OFFICE OF INSPECTOR 19 GENERAL OF TRANSIT AUTHORITY.—From the 20 amounts in paragraph (1), the Transit Authority 21 shall provide at least 7 percent for each fiscal year 22 to the Office of Inspector General of the Transit Au- 23 thority to carry out independent and objective au- 24 dits, investigations, and reviews of Transit Authority 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:18 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H694.IH H694 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 694 IH programs and operations to promote economy, effi- 1 ciency, and effectiveness, and to prevent and detect 2 fraud, waste, and abuse in such programs and oper- 3 ations.’’; and 4 (3) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub- 5 section (f). 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:18 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H694.IH H694 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS