Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
JANUARY 16, 2020
Subject
SUBJECT: STATE AND FEDERAL REPORT
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE State and Federal Legislative Report.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Executive Management Committee
Federal Remarks Prepared By Raffi Haig Hamparian
Government Relations Senior Director, Federal Affairs
Chair Butts and members of the Executive Management Committee, I am pleased to provide an update on several federal matters of interest to our agency. This report was prepared on December 31, 2019 and will be updated, as appropriate, at the Executive Management Committee meeting on January 16, 2020. Status of relevant pending legislation is monitored on the Metro Government Relations Legislative Matrix, which is updated monthly.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020
Earlier this month, U.S. House and Senate negotiated the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020, which was signed into law by the President on December 20, 2019. The final language in the NDAA conference report mirrors legislation authored by Senator Cornyn (R-TX) and Congressman Rouda (D-CA) that was introduced earlier this year with respect to the use of federal funds to procure rolling stock from China. One significant exception to the language adopted in the NDAA conference agreement is the addition of a 2- year delay before the federal funding ban and penalties are implemented - except for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) which is immediately subject to the federal ban on purchasing rolling stock from firms based in China. WMATA is currently in the final stages of awarding a contract for new railcars and the region's House and Senate delegations have previously voiced opposition to awarding a contract to CRRC. The final NDAA conference agreement, that is now law, includes language to exempt any previously executed contracts, therefor...
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