The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is facing a looming budget shortfall, and Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen are hoping to ease operational costs related to national security and counterterrorism efforts.
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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin sent a letter to two federal agencies within the Biden administration, urging them to require federal employees to return to the office in order to save the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) from a budget deficit he claims threatens the future of public transportation in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Youngkin urged the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM)and Office of Management and Budget to order its employees back to their offices “to infuse needed energy into the Greater DC regional economy and provide WMATA with a sustaining ridership level.”
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RICHMOND, Virginia — In a Thursday presentation to legislators, Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller touted reduced DMV wait times, record Port of Virginia profits, and expansion at Virginia’s spaceport, but he said fatality rates on Virginia highways are ticking up and northern Virginia commuter rail and metro options are in bad financial condition.
“WMATA [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority] is not so good,” Miller told the Senate Transportation Committee. “A new CEO, really excited about him. A lot of work to do. A lot. Huge deficit looming. Not really sure how we’re going to deal with that.”
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The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is expected to lay off over a thousand employees over a period starting on Christmas, according to layoff notices filed in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. The cuts are the result of low ridership in the current 2021 fiscal year, which ends in June. A Metro official, who was not authorized to talk to the media, said that approximately 1,400 layoffs were expected soon, with an additional 2,400 needed to cover shortfalls in fiscal year 2022.
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