Cardin: GOP Gums Up Metro Repairs

Republicans in the House of Representatives are bottling up legislation that would pay for 10 years and $1.5 billion in Metro improvements, Sen. Ben Cardin said Tuesday.

Without passage of the bill — called Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21 — the transit system will have to delay proceeding with safety improvements called for after a 2009 collision that killed nine and injured 80.

"Projects are going to be delayed, and these projects can affect safety," Cardin (D) told WAMU. "There's no question about that. So yes, it does affect safety, it does affect convenience, it does affect service. All that is put at risk."

The senator, who is seeking re-election in November, held a press conference at a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority training and maintenance center. Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority operates the 36-year-old Metro.

Map-21 passed the Senate 74-22 in March but House Speaker John Boehner has prevented the bill from going to a vote, because he knows there are enough supporters for the bill to pass the House, Cardin said, according to a Capital News Service report.