METRO Accountability and Reform Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Highways and Transit.
Metro Efficiency, Transparency, Reliability, Oversight, Accountability and Reform Act or the METRO Accountability and Reform Act
This bill amends the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 to reauthorize through FY2029 the grant program for capital and preventive maintenance projects for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
The Department of Transportation (DOT) shall issue language to amend the WMATA Compact to establish a Metro Reform Board and transmit such language to the signatories of the compact (i.e., Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia), the funding jurisdictions, and Congress. DOT shall not release any funds until it certifies that the signatories have enacted such language.
DOT may make grants to WMATA to finance the capital and preventive maintenance projects included in the Capital Improvement Program approved by WMATA's Board of Directors.
The bill sets forth protections for WMATA employees, including whistle-blower protections.
The General Services Administration shall initiate a review of the various transit benefit programs administered by each federal department and agency with facilities located in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone for purposes of standardizing the rate of benefit for all federal employees enrolled in such benefit programs.
The Federal Transit Administration shall conduct a review of its competitive grant programs.
The bill establishes a Metro Reform Commission to inform Congress and stakeholders on the progress of signatories in amending the WMATA compact and increasing efficiencies within WMATA. It also modifies standards for arbitrating disputes involving interstate compact agencies.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 4, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 5, 2017: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Barbara Comstock (R-VA) introduced it on December 4, 2017. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 4, 2017, 3202 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3201 days ago, on December 5, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers