WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) participated in a virtual Senate Banking Committee hearing on public transportation infrastructure investment. During the hearing, Sen. Warner stressed the need for dependable federal funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the entity that oversees Metro, given its importance to the region and the number of federal agencies and essential workers that rely on the system, especially amid the COVID-19 crisis. 

“The truth is, in many ways, the federal government runs on Metro. Before the pandemic, this was the system that kept our federal government and region running. As a matter a fact, 40 percent of Metro riders were federal employees. The unfortunate thing is COVID-19 has a dramatic effect on Metro, just like it had on systems all across the country. So we’ve got to make sure to provide support for WMATA,” said Sen. Warner during today’s hearing.

Signed into law last month, the American Rescue Plan provides $1.4 billion in federal funds for transit systems in the D.C. region, which includes WMATA. In December, Sen. Warner also personally negotiated a COVID-19 package that provided $14 billion in emergency relief for public transit agencies to continue operations during the pandemic, ensuring access to transportation for frontline workers and civil servants. As a result, the National Capital Region received over $800 million in emergency funding. 

During the committee hearing, Sen. Warner also underscored the importance of renewing the federal funding commitment for WMATA to ensure the long-term safety and reliability of the Metro system. 

“In 2008, Congress recognized the importance of Metro and finally passed – in a bipartisan way – ‘PRIIA’ legislation, a 10 year deal where $150 million in federal funds were authorized to the Metro system. The bill recognized the fact that all the localities – Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. – were chipping in a lot and the federal government was chipping in a bit to take care of the special needs of our federal workers,” continued Sen. Warner.  

In February, Sen. Warner along with Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the Metro Safety, Accountability and Investment Act to provide a dependable federal funding commitment for WMATA.  Specifically, the bill would reauthorize $150 million annually for WMATA capital expenses over the next 10 years which is then matched by funding from Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. The bill also provides an additional $50 million per year in federal funding in exchange for key safety, oversight, and governance reforms at WMATA.

In the hearing, Sen. Warner also underscored the importance of additional funding programs to ensure the safety and reliability of Metro and other public transit systems, which includes the State of Good Repair program. Currently, WMATA’s State of Good Repair needs are estimated at $16 billion.

“One of the things we have to grapple with is the State of Good Repair investments, they are critically important to transit systems across the country, including Metro and some of our smaller systems around Virginia,” continued Sen. Warner.

Sen. Warner concluded his remarks in the hearing by thanking transit workers for their work amid the COVID-19 crisis, “I want to acknowledge our transit worker unions who’ve had to stay on the front lines during the entire COVID-19 crisis despite facing enormous challenges. One of the reasons that it’s so important to get the transit funds in place is not only to continue to operate our transit systems, but to show our support for our workforce.”

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