Hoyer and the National Capital Region House Delegation Meet with New Metro General Manager
WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) hosted a meeting on Capitol Hill with the National Capital Region House Delegation and the new General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Paul Wiedefeld. Members in attendance included Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD), Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD), Congressman John Delaney (D-MD) and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA).
"I was pleased to welcome Mr. Wiedefeld to Capitol Hill today to discuss his top priorities and plans to address some of Metro's immediate challenges," said Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD). "I hope that he will take our Delegation concerns and those of our constituents into consideration as he works to improve the safety and quality of Metro services. I look forward to working with him and continuing to advocate for federal resources to ensure that Metro is a reliable source of transportation to commuters who ride Metro each day and to visitors who travel to our region."
"I believe Mr. Wiedefeld is serious about ensuring safety and restoring rider confidence in Metro, two of the chief concerns among our congressional delegation," said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). "We have now achieved federal safety oversight over WMATA, which we hope will help the agency turn a new page and meet the standards that our constituents are rightfully demanding."
Congressman Van Hollen (D-MD) said, "I thank General Manager Paul Wiedefeld for meeting today to discuss strategies for addressing the pervasive safety and service deficiencies at WMATA. My constituents expect Metro to be reliable and safe, and significant work must be done to meet that standard. I look forward to working with Mr. Wiedefeld to address rider frustrations and fix the system, and to working with my colleagues in the Congressional delegation to hold WMATA accountable."
"I was encouraged to hear Mr. Wiedefeld's ideas for improving the safety and quality of WMATA," said Congressman Sarbanes (D-MD). "With more than 30 years of experience in transportation management – serving as the head of the Maryland Transit Administration and as the former CEO of BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport – I hope that Mr. Wiedefeld will place a high priority on the needs of Marylanders."
"Today's meeting with the National Capital Region House Delegation was a welcome opportunity to hear from Mr. Wiedefeld directly about his focus to improve safety, reliability, and change the overall culture at WMATA," said Congresswoman Edwards (D-MD). "It is a team effort, and is why I worked with Reps. Norton (DC) and Comstock (VA-10) to provide new and direct federal oversight, investigation, and enforcement authority of Metro. It is also why Rep. Comstock and I transferred Metro board appointments from the General Services Administration to the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is clear that Mr. Wiedefeld shares our commitment and understands what is at stake, in terms of ensuring safety for commuters and visitors, and the critical role Metro plays in economic development throughout the region. I am certain that Mr. Wiedefeld will prove to be a valuable partner as we all continue working together to improve Metro's operations."
"Marylanders depend on Metro every day to get to work, get to school and get home and they are deeply concerned about Metro's safety and reliability," said Congressman Delaney (D-MD). "I look forward to hearing more about Mr. Wiedefeld's plans to upgrade Metro, because improvements are truly needed. The Capital Region doesn't work without Metro operating at a high standard and I am committed to fighting for Metro in the federal budget, but we also need assurances that Metro can make improvements. I'd like to thank Mr. Wiedefeld for taking the time to meet with the regional delegation and thank Whip Hoyer for arranging the meeting."
"Mr. Wiedefeld faces a Herculean task, and I stand firmly behind him," said Congressman Beyer (D-VA). "I am confident that he and his team will restore this system to great safety and reliability, and the region's congressional delegation will do all we can to help him."