U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) went after the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) this week, naming them a recipient of his Golden Fleece Award — a recognition meant to emphasize the biggest waste of taxpayer funds each month.
His reasoning revolved around delays to the completion of the Silver Line Metro’s phase 2, which will reportedly add another $95 million to the project cost. It also shortchanges visitors from across the nation, he says, who come to the area only to be met with services below what they should expect. Hill wrote directly to John Potter, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, with news of the dubious award.
“The entire Silver Line project is expected to cost more than $5.6 billion, and we must be good stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars,” Hill wrote. “Our nation is currently over $22 trillion in debt, and it is important now more than ever that we carefully scrutinize our government programs to ensure that we are only funding essential programs and projects while eliminating frivolous and wasteful spending – and ensuring we have in place necessary accountability mechanisms. MWAA has already received $900 million for Silver Line Phase 1 from the U.S. Department of Transportation, in addition to nearly $2 billion in federal loans for Silver Line Phase 2.”
Hill’s letter was spurred by reports from The Washington Post, which labeled the latest phase of the Silver Line to be more than a year behind schedule and plagued by numerous construction issues. Some have proven more of a setback than others, including an entire platform built with the wrong dimensions and the mandated replacement of cranes for failing to meet the Federal Transit Administration’s Buy America requirement, which demands increasing percentages of components to have been produced in the United States.