A House transportation panel Tuesday will question Metro officials about a string of safety problems plaguing the troubled transit system, but left a key official off the witness list who angered members of Congress last month.
The list excludes Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority Administration Board Chairman Jack Evans, who last month excoriated House lawmakers for refusing to provide federal funding for Metro.
Evans, a D.C. councilmember and WMATA’s current board chairman, told Congress at an April hearing that the federal government should pay $300 million annually to help operate Metro effectively. Evans warned Congress that the next time Metro suffers a safety emergency, “I’m blaming it on you guys.”
Weeks later, Evans was not invited to testify Tuesday. A spokesman for the panel said he was left off the list because lawmakers, “wanted to hear from the CEO of WMATA and from FTA, the people on the ground, so to speak.”
Metro has suffered a spate of fire and smoke incidents, and one of them caught on video and going viral. Metro’s troubles have prompted calls for federal funding.
Paul Wiedefeld, who is Metro’s general manager and chief executive officer, tops the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee witness list. Wiedefeld took over Metro in November and is attempting to overhaul the system. He fired 20 Metro managers last week and recently announced a year-long plan to make major repairs to Metro’s infrastructure.
Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., chairman of the Transportation panel’s subcommittee on highways and transit, will conduct the hearing, which will “examine the state of the Washington Metro system operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and how the safety and reliability of the Metro can be improved.”
The Federal Transit Administraton’s acting acting administrator, Carolyn Flowers, will also testify. The FTA earlier this month threatened to shut down Metro if officials did not make immediate safety repairs.
A trio of Democratic lawmakers will also testify, including House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Rep. Gerry Connolly, of Virginia, and Rep. John Delaney, of Maryland, along with Tim Lovain, Chairman of the Transportation Planning Board for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
