Transportation

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released the follow statement on today’s GSA Inspector General’s report on the FBI headquarters decision. Connolly requested the report in February 2018. “I initiated the Inspector General’s investigation into the procurement of a new consolidated headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). I did so because I was concerned that the Administration’s decisions to cancel an... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly and the cosponsors of the Metro Accountability and Investment Act (MAIA, H.R. 4900) wrote to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to urge the Committee to include in any comprehensive infrastructure package the reforms and transit investments for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) outlined in MAIA. Congressman Connolly was joined on the letter by the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee... Read more

Today, Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD) introduced the Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act. The bill would prohibit the kind of indiscriminate anti-telework policies the Trump Administration has announced for the Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Instead of instituting mindless, sweeping bans on telework participation, agencies should be expanding teleworking options. Telework is supposed to be a tool for promoting government efficiency,... Read more

Adam Longo and Eliana Block A proposal to increase teleworking opportunities for federal government employees is being introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) are co-sponsors of the "Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act." A news release sent out by Rep. Connolly's office said the bill would "prohibit the kind of indiscriminate anti-telework policies the Trump Administration has announced for the Department of Educat... Read more

Jory Heckman Following the recent rollback of telework agreements at the Education and Agriculture departments, two D.C.-area lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at protecting and expanding existing agency telework agreements. The Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act, introduced by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) Thursday, would prohibit agencywide policies that restrict telework. “Telework increasingly becomes critical to continuity of operations, without which ... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) voted against H.R. 50, legislation that would impose numerous new requirements that will slow down the regulatory process and give regulated industry an unfair advantage over public health organizations, doctors, scientists, and ordinary Americans when new rules are made. “We have seen this bill before. It was a bad idea then and it is a ... Read more

Today, Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, sent a letter to President Donald Trump in response to troubling reports that he is using his authority as president to launch political attacks against Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, and to pressure the Postal Service to raise its rates for Amazon. “We are writing in response to troubling reports ... Read more

Lori Aratani and Faiz Siddiqui A pedestrian bridge at Innovation Station, part of Phase II of Metro’s Silver Line expansion to Dulles International Airport and beyond, is under construction July 26, 2017 in Herndon, VA. Newly unsealed court documents allege that the company that made the pre-cast concrete panels that make up the exterior walls at five of the stations knew the materials were defective. Concrete panels for several of the new Silver Line stations do not meet safety or reliability ... Read more

Congressman Gerald E. Connolly released the following statement after the House Appropriations Committee included the full $150 million in federal funding for WMATA: “I am pleased the House Appropriations Committee took our strong recommendation and has included the full $150 million in federal funding for WMATA. The federal government has a responsibility to fulfill its commitment to funding our nation’s transit system, and this is an important step.” Connolly led the delegation in sending a le... Read more

Faiz Siddiqui Metro crews copied and pasted language from prior years’ structural inspection reports for the Rhode Island Avenue station and in other instances skipped hard-to-reach areas, culminating in a steel beam and concrete chunks falling from the ceiling in 2016, the agency’s inspector general concluded in a report released Thursday. No one was injured, but the Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland stations will be shut down for 45 days starting July 21 to permanently address the structural ... Read more