An amendment by Congressman Gerry Connolly to restore $150 million for Metro safety was killed by Republicans late Tuesday night as the House of Representatives continues to work on the GOP bill to fund the government through September 30.

Connolly’s amendment to the continuing appropriations bill, backed by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Reps. Jim Moran, Chris Van Hollen, and Donna Edwards, and DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, was killed on the House floor when Republicans opposed the legislation and ruled it out of order.

The Connolly amendment would have reinstated the annual federal payment to Metro for fiscal year 2011, offsetting the cost by reducing direct federal farm subsidies, mostly to large agribusinesses.  The GOP’s continuing appropriations bill under consideration this week eliminates the annual federal government payment for Metro. 

“One year after the federal government made its first of 10 annual payments to Metro, the Republican majority is trying to break the agreement Congress made to match the funding provided by Virginia, Maryland, and DC,” Rep. Connolly said. “There is no bigger beneficiary of the Metro system than the federal government.  More than 40 percent of federal employees commute on Metro every day and the federal government provides no subsidy to Metro other than this $150 million annual payment.”

“The DC Metro is America’s subway, serving thousands of federal workers and millions of visitors to the Capitol,” Rep. Van Hollen said.  The continuing resolution on the floor this week would slash federal funding and jeopardize critical safety and maintenance improvements.  We must restore this vital investment and maintain our commitment to a world-class transit system in our nation’s capital.”

Rep. Edwards said, “The Metro is critical to Maryland’s 4^thCongressional District and the Washington metropolitan region, with 217.2 million trips in 2010.  The continuing resolution haphazardly lobs off federal funding, leaving critical safety, national security and performance measures in its wake.  It is essential that we fully restore this vital investment and not leave our commuters, our nation’s tourists, and our Metro workers without a responsible budget.”

The original legislation authorizing the $150 million annual federal payment to Metro for safety and infrastructure improvements finally passed the Congress in 2008 and the bill appropriating the funding passed in 2009, after years of wrangling, with the bipartisan support of the entire Virginia congressional delegation.  The first payment was made in fiscal year 2010. Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia each agreed to make $50 million annual payments to Metro to match the yearly federal payment, and the Metro board amended its compact to give the federal government two permanent seats on the board.

Connolly said the law is supposed to provide Metro with $3 billion over the next decade, with half to be paid by the federal government and half to be paid by the three area jurisdictions.  “This move by the Republicans to eliminate the fiscal year 2011 federal payment to Metro is an egregious abrogation of the contract Congress made with the states and DC,” Connolly said.  “This legislation jeopardizes everything we’ve tried to do, in a bipartisan manner, to improve Metro safety.”

The National Transportation Safety Board had identified more than $1 billion in needed Metro safety improvements.

“There is talk that a failure by the Congress to pass the continuing appropriations resolution could force the government to shut down on March 4,” Connolly said.  “I suggest that failure to amend the bill to retain the federal funding of Metro could have a similar effect if the money isn’t available to keep Metro safe and functioning efficiently.”