Metro could lose over $200 million in funding from D.C. if Congress forces the District to cut spending of the city’s own funds. News4’s Adam Tuss reports.
Metro could lose over $200 million in funding from D.C. if Congress forces the District to cut spending of the city’s own funds.
As the Friday deadline for a federal spending deal approaches, Metro is watching closely because the transit agency could be directly affected.
“Assuming the continuing resolution passes this week, that means over the weekend we suddenly have to go back to FY 2024 spending, and for the year we will have to spend a billion dollars less,” D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson said Thursday. “Our contribution to WMATA could have a cascading effect, which would hurt all of us.”
The transit agency’s main union said a D.C. funding cut would almost certainly trigger job cuts.
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Raymond Jackson with ATU Local 689 called potential layoffs a slap in the face.
“I always go back to this: When this country asked the transit workers to step up, we stood up in the middle of a pandemic. We came to work every day. I mean, come on, you gotta give us a little more respect,” he said.
Twenty to thirty union members headed to Capitol Hill on Thursday.
“I tell everybody – Democrats, Republicans, the party affiliation really don’t matter to us. 689. It’s who is for working people,” Jackson said.
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Metro did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
For now, transit workers and so many others in the D.C. area are holding their breath to see what congressional lawmakers do.
