Wolf Introduces Bill to Give Virginia Majority of Seats on MWAA Board

Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Va. (10th CD), issued the following news release:

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) has introduced legislation to reduce the size of the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) and give Virginia a clear majority of the seats.

"The MWAA board in place today is not what was envisioned 25 years ago," Wolf said. "This board is broken and broken badly."

Wolf said the current board lacks transparency and accountability, pointing to a series of appalling decisions over the past two years, including a $200,000 confidential settlement with an unsuccessful candidate to run the authority and sweetheart deals for former board members and board staff. Lavish travel around the globe by board members also has come under scrutiny.

The board's protracted battle with its local partners over a costly underground Metrorail station at Dulles airport as part of the Silver Line extension, as well as the fight over a proposed labor agreement on Phase 2 of the project, also played into Wolf's decision since Virginians - notably Dulles Toll Road commuters - would bear any additional costs of the project. Four former Virginia elected officials, Senators John Warner and Chuck Robb, and Governors Gerald Baliles and Linwood Holton, wrote a letter (http://wolf.house.gov/uploads/MWAA%20Govs%20Letter.pdf) to the MWAA board on May 14 noting that any added cost incurred in Phase 2 would put an undue burden on toll road users. This statesman-like letter called for compromise and mutual respect among the board, Wolf said, adding that these former public servants, both Republican and Democrat, took a non-ideological stance, instead favoring what was best for Virginia and the entire national capital region. Wolf said he sincerely hopes that Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and MWAA Accountability Officer Kimberly Moore can find a role for these leaders in the future.

"Their experience in creating MWAA and ensuring the success of Dulles Rail should prove extremely valuable today," Wolf said. "I believe these gentlemen can help get the board back on the right track in the future."

In addition, Wolf expressed frustration that legislation signed into law last year aimed at addressing issues with the board has yet to be implemented. The board has actively worked to block the implementation of the changes, Wolf said.

Wolf also is concerned about the final results of a U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General report due out this fall. A preliminary report released in May was highly critical of the board, raising concerns over its contracting practices, transparency and ethics.

Finally, Wolf cited a recent incident involving the confiscation of a board member's papers following the July board meeting that has led to a flurry of subpoenas being issued to board members and others, including Wolf and his chief of staff.

"The board is dysfunctional," Wolf said. "MWAA used to have a well-functioning and highly successful board. Now it has just dissolved into bitter acrimony. Board members are subpoenaing each other. It is internecine warfare. This cannot stand. It is time to give Virginia control."

Under Wolf's proposed legislation, the board would be cut from 13 members to nine, six of whom would be appointed by the governor of Virginia. The District of Columbia and the state of Maryland would have one seat each; the federal government would hold the third.

Wolf said problems with the MWAA board are serious and persistent.

"It seems like not a day goes by anymore without a media account casting MWAA in a negative light," he said. "Three damning pieces appeared on consecutive days last week. Another critical editorial ran yesterday."

On July 31, The Examiner reported that MWAA created a $180,000-a-year job for a board member who was stepping down for health reasons. According to the article, it wasn't the first time a former board member cashed in. At least two other former board members - and a former staff member of the board - have been beneficiaries of sweetheart deals, The Examiner reported. The article, as well as an interim report from the Department of Transportation's Inspector General also mentions the award last year of a $100,000 contract to a law firm where a board member's wife works.

On August 1, the editorial page of The Washington Post was able to finally expose the board's $200,000 payment to an individual who was "all but promised" - but never offered - the CEO position. The deal was struck to avoid a potential lawsuit.

On August 2, The Examiner reported U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was outraged by the news of a former board member receiving a six-figure salary and that he instructed his department to explore "all options to put an end to any preferential treatment - real or perceived - showed to board insiders." LaHood last week announced the appointment of an "accountability officer" to monitor the authority's operations.

Last week's revelations come on the heels of multiple articles and editorials in recent weeks about board members travelling the globe on MWAA's dime.

The prolonged battle over the board's desire to have a project labor agreement for the second phase of the Dulles rail project was also played out in the press. After this decision, which likely would have added additional costs to Phase 2, the board faced a backlash from Loudoun County and Virginia officials. It finally reversed its position in June.

There was extensive coverage in May of the scathing interim report by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation questioning the contracting practices, ethics and transparency of the board. Wolf requested the investigation after MWAA refused to hire an outside auditor. The final report is expected to be completed this fall.

In the spring of 2011, at least eight editorials appeared in the Post criticizing the board's decision to build an underground Metrorail station at Dulles, where an aboveground station will save hundreds of millions of dollars at no significant cost to passenger convenience. The board reluctantly reversed its decision in June of 2011.

Wolf said one issue yet to hit the media involves the confiscation of a board member's papers left at his seat after a recent meeting. Wolf said it was his understanding that a board member left the July session for a lunch meeting, fully intending to return. The board meeting adjourned, however, before he came back and board staff collected his things.

"Instead of just putting the documents in an envelope, the staff read through them and then passed them onto the board secretary, who, I understand, also went through them," Wolf said. "Believing the documents could be pertinent to litigation involving MWAA, the board secretary turned them over to the authority's general counsel. This incident has led to series of subpoenas being issued to several board members and others, including me and my chief of staff."

This latest incident revolves around the removal of a Virginia board member for cause by Governor McDonnell, Wolf said. The board member has challenged his removal in court and MWAA is paying his legal fees.

"I suspect MWAA will have to start paying the legal fees of other board members who have now been subpoenaed in the case," Wolf said. "Knowing how fast legal fees can accumulate, I am deeply troubled by these latest turn of events, especially considering taxpayers are footing the bill."

The problems do not end here, Wolf said. The terms of all three of the federal appointments have expired and finding replacements continues to drag on and on. The District left an appointee on the board for nearly two years after his term has expired, despite being under house arrest in the Ivory Coast and attending only one meeting between 2009 and 2011. It was going to be that member's proxy vote to hire the unsuccessful CEO candidate who received a $200,000 settlement. Board members also used to meet with the former chairman the night before meetings to plot strategy for the next day's meetings, Wolf said.

"All this points to a board that is totally dysfunctional, fiscally irresponsible and tone deaf," Wolf said.

Wolf said these problems are not playing out in isolation and could have a severe impact on the economy of Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Both airports, the Dulles Toll Road and the Silver Line extension are all in Virginia," Wolf said. "Would anyone think that Virginia should have majority control over the operations of Baltimore Washington International Airport or the development of the H Street Corridor in the District? This clearly makes no sense.

"This legislation would simply give Virginia a majority of seats on the board that controls airports in the Commonwealth," Wolf continued. "This legislation does not remove representation from Maryland and D.C.; rather, it just affirms that the Commonwealth has the most interest in the airports and rail project and therefore should have a majority of seats on the board."

Wolf said legislation will use Congress' plenary authority over D.C. to automatically make its local statutes come into compliance with the new law.

"I realize this will not go over well in the District," Wolf said. "I have been a strong supporter of Home Rule for the District throughout my career in Congress, so I take no pleasure in having to introduce a bill that takes these steps. But I believe D.C. has no intention of coming into full compliance with federal law. One only has to look to D.C.'s reluctance to act on the changes signed into law last year aimed at fixing MWAA. The District is slow-walking changes it agreed to, and adding insult to injury, has proposed additional amendments to the changes.

"The health of these two airports - and the rail project - has an enormous impact on northern Virginia," Wolf continued. "I have often said that the Dulles corridor is the Main Street of Virginia. The number of firms that have chosen to locate in this region is testament to the strength of the airports and the services it provides as a hub for national and international travel."

Wolf said the success of the Dulles corridor, northern Virginia and the entire Commonwealth depends on MWAA being able to ably run the airports and the rail project.

"The board members seem to think that they operate in a vacuum, outside any control from Congress or the public" Wolf said. "In reality, their choices have a direct impact on millions of people. Any added costs generated by the board will be borne by northern Virginia residents and the travelers who use the airport. The board members from Maryland and D.C. will never face the added costs of driving daily on the Dulles Toll Road and therefore show no regard for the concerns of the residents who will. They make decisions that benefit their interests and leave Virginia residents to write blank checks. The fact that the board stumbles from one fiscal and public relations catastrophe to another makes it clear that the current structure of the board will no longer suffice.

"I firmly believe that it is in the best interest of MWAA and Virginia residents for the Commonwealth to have a majority of seats on the board," Wolf said. "I stand ready to work with all interested parties to make sure that both the airports and the Dulles Rail project are successful. I believe this bill will go a long way toward achieving this goal. Once the board returns to the way it operated for more than 20 years, I am confident the airports will continue to thrive, Dulles Rail will be completed successfully, and the Dulles corridor will continue to be the economic engine of not only the National Capital Region, but the entire Commonwealth of Virginia."

Contact: Jill Shatzen, 202/225-5136

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