The Introduction of the Bill to Ensure that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Complies with Federal Auditing Standards

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill to prohibit federal funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) from being disbursed to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) unless DOT certifies that MWAA is complying with audit standards. There have been some improvements at MWAA, but significant failures in MWAA's contracting, auditing, and hiring policies and practices pointed to a need for systemic reform in MWAA's acquisition, auditing, and hiring processes. Despite being created by Congress, leasing federally owned land, and benefiting from significant federal taxpayer funds, MWAA is not subject to federal procurement, auditing or nepotism laws. However, MWAA has been taking steps to address these shortcomings.

MWAA is an independent public body created by Congress under the Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 (Airports Act). MWAA, with 1,400 employees, leases Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport from the federal government. In addition to managing the airports, MWAA is responsible for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, which has an estimated cost of $5.8 billion, including $977 million in federal funds. In 2012, DOT appointed a Federal Accountability Officer, who reports directly to the Secretary, to ensure MWAA follows the DOT Inspector General's (IG) recommendations.

A 2012 DOT IG report, ``MWAA's Weak Policies and Procedures Have Led to Questionable Procurement Practices, Mismanagement, and a Lack of Overall Accountability'' (Report Number: AV-2013-006) (IG Report), found that ``MWAA's contracting policies and practices are insufficient to ensure compliance with the Airports Act and the lease agreement between DOT and MWAA.'' For example, the Airports Act and lease agreement require MWAA to award contracts over $200,000 competitively to the maximum extent practicable. However, the IG Report found that MWAA had recently awarded two-thirds of its contracts exceeding $200,000 with limited competition. The IG Report also noted that MWAA awarded many contracts with no formal solicitation. After the IG Report, MWAA immediately took action and has closed out 10 of 12 recommendations and MWAA has adopted as much of the Federal Acquisition Regulations as are applicable to MWAA. Still, there are significant issues sighted in a recent draft DOT IG report on the Office of Audits that virtually mandates greater monitoring.

A January 15, 2013, Washington Post article reported that at least 10 percent of MWAA employees have family members working there, including spouses and children. The IG report also noted that MWAA lacked ``sufficient controls to detect and prevent nepotism.'' It is clear that changes were imperative and overdue. The lack of transparency and competition on MWAA's contracts and hiring were inconsistent with continued ownership of the airports by the federal government, MWAA's creation by Congress, and the significant federal taxpayer dollars MWAA receives. The IG Report's conclusion that procurement procedures and hiring policies in place were inadequate required a response that definitively fixed these issues. MWAA has updated its policies, and nepotism appears to no longer be a problem.

A current draft DOT IG report on the Office of Audits raises a number of questions regarding MWAA's internal auditing procedures. It finds that there have been no outside reviews of the Office of Audits and that the office has not adopted standards and lacked sufficient oversight. MWAA has responded to this draft report by taking initial steps to restructure the office. MWAA has updated its regulations so that the head of the Office of Audits will now report directly to the Board of Directors as well as the President & CEO. MWAA has also adopted the Institute of Internal Auditors standards, and it is undergoing a national search for a new internal auditor and external auditor.

The steps MWAA has taken to address the findings of the DOT IG are commendable. However, considering the outstanding issues, continuous oversight is essential. To further assist MWAA, I am offering this bill so that DOT will continue to have direct oversight over MWAA and access to audit materials.

I urge support of this bill.

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