Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) filed an amendment to the fiscal year 2020 transportation appropriations bill Monday that would prohibit the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) from purchasing Chinese-made railcars.
Under the amendment, Metro cannot be awarded federal grants for railcars unless it certifies that it will not award any contract or subcontract to foreign state-owned companies. The Metro is planning to purchase several railcars.
“The security of public transit in the nation’s capital must be a top priority,” Norton said last month. “China is not making these railcars so cheaply out of the goodness of its heart. Until we have irrefutable evidence, we must not turn a blind eye to the clear incentive China has to monitor our capital and undermine our security.”
In May, Norton and several other Congress members sent a letter to the leaders of the House Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and Related Agencies committee. The letter proposed the ban.
The Congress members were concerned about Metro purchasing railcars from foreign governments that have sought to undermine the economic competitiveness and national security of the United States. This is a cybersecurity concern, the Congress members said.
The Rules Committee will consider the amendment.
Norton is chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.