Gerald E. 'Gerry' Connolly
Gerald E. 'Gerry' Connolly
21/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 21/11/2024 15:58
Connolly Statement on GAO Report on WMATA Inspector General Independence
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, released the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the status of the independence of WMATA's Office of Inspector General (OIG):
"I welcome this GAO report which concludes that WMATA is now in compliance with the OIG reforms I authored and which were included in the IIJA. This will help the federal government uphold its financial commitment to Metro, which is critical to delivering the federal workforce to work each day in the National Capital Region. However, WMATA must take immediate action on two more important reforms. The WMATA Board must restore the original term of the Inspector General, which has been changed twice without any explanation whatsoever, and adopt policies and procedures that require 'for cause' removal of an Inspector General.
"In June, I wrote to the WMATA Board urging them to take three immediate actions to promote oversight, accountability, and safety at Metro. I urged them to seek an independent review of the system's compliance with the reforms included in the IIJA; to restore the original terms of the WMATA IG, which had been drastically diminished without explanation; and to establish a 'for cause' removal standard for the WMATA IG. This GAO report and ongoing work being done by the IG satisfies the first request. The WMATA Board can demonstrate a firm commitment to transparency by completing its work on the other two requests, which I am confident the Board will do in the coming months."
Connolly's June 2024 letter to the WMATA Board is available here. The GAO report is available here.
"I welcome this GAO report which concludes that WMATA is now in compliance with the OIG reforms I authored and which were included in the IIJA. This will help the federal government uphold its financial commitment to Metro, which is critical to delivering the federal workforce to work each day in the National Capital Region. However, WMATA must take immediate action on two more important reforms. The WMATA Board must restore the original term of the Inspector General, which has been changed twice without any explanation whatsoever, and adopt policies and procedures that require 'for cause' removal of an Inspector General.
"In June, I wrote to the WMATA Board urging them to take three immediate actions to promote oversight, accountability, and safety at Metro. I urged them to seek an independent review of the system's compliance with the reforms included in the IIJA; to restore the original terms of the WMATA IG, which had been drastically diminished without explanation; and to establish a 'for cause' removal standard for the WMATA IG. This GAO report and ongoing work being done by the IG satisfies the first request. The WMATA Board can demonstrate a firm commitment to transparency by completing its work on the other two requests, which I am confident the Board will do in the coming months."
Connolly's June 2024 letter to the WMATA Board is available here. The GAO report is available here.