Will the Federal Government muck up the WMATA Board of Directors?

(Not that long ago, I suggested that maybe the WMATA Board should be elected, just like the Metro Board in Portland. On the other hand, since the way that WMATA is funded is by each jurisdiction that is a member of the funding Compact, it's important that elected officials from the jurisdictions participate, lead, and are involved on the WMATA Board.)

From a correspondent:

Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) recently introduced HR 401, a bill to give Metro $1.5 billion in federal money over the next 10 years, on the condition that D.C., Maryland, and Virginia match the amount collectively. Sen. Cardin of Maryland introduced a companion bill.

The legislation adds federal government representatives to the WMATA board. Here’s the problem language with the bills:

“SEC. 2 (d) (3) An amendment expanding the Board of Directors of the Transit Authority to include 4 additional Directors appointed by the Administrator of General Services, of whom 2 shall be nonvoting and 2 shall be voting, and requiring one of the voting members so appointed to be a regular passenger and customer of the bus or rail service of the Transit Authority.”

The General Services Administration manages the basic federal agency functions, such as office space, some management items and transportation issues. If the GSA Administrator can appoint two voting members, then it’s likely that his or her only concern will be rush hour service. That could easily lead to cutbacks in late night and weekend hours, trains and staff.

People who depend on Metro in DC, Clarendon, Ballston and Silver Spring would really suffer.

What’s the solution? Well, if the federal government has to get two voting members then perhaps they should be chosen by an agency that actually understands urban transit policy, such as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and/or the EPA. FTA administers federal transit funding and grants. EPA advocates for smart growth. Either of these agencies would be better suited than the GSA to serve the interests of the federal government and our region’s residents.

-------------------
Hmm. Another agency that would be good is the National Capital Planning Commission.

Something I don't know too much about is GSA and transportation demand management. My understanding is that the federal government agencies are required to do TDM planning. But I've never been able to track down a good source of information about it.

With historic preservation, each federal agency is required to have a historic preservation plan for the assets under its purview, and has a federal historic preservation officer to manage the plan. (See Federal, State, and Tribal Historic Preservation Programs and Officers from the Advisory Council for Histoirc Preservation webpage.)

Perhaps we need the same for federal transportation demand and planning, especially in this region. And it is from such a grouping of officials that representatives could come from for the WMATA board as well, in addition to the Federal Transit Administration (US DOT) , the EPA's Development, Community & Environment Division, and the NCPC.