U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Representative Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer and Barbara Comstock, along with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin, Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Steny Hoyer, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John P. Sarbanes, John Delaney, Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin, have sent a letter to Congressional appropriators calling for continued federal investment in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for safety and other improvements to Metrorail. The delegation stated that Metro has a long way to go to earn back the region’s trust but made the case that better performance from WMATA and more reliable funding from Congress go hand in hand, and that any cut in federal funding could set back the slow but measurable progress that General Manager Paul Wiedefeld’s team has made over the past year.

“In sum, WMATA is making progress on returning the system to a state of good repair. However, without continued investment by the federal government, that goal will not be reached,” the delegation wrote. “This funding will maintain the federal government’s commitment to ensure that residents and visitors to the National Capitol Region have access to a safe and reliable public transportation system.”