,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ijg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #bh1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,connolly 7for himself and ,mr4    
,moran7 introduced the following bill2  
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,transportation and ,infrastructure  ,a 
,,bill  ,to authorize project           
development for projects to extend      
,metrorail service in ,northern         
,virginia1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,northern ,virginia ,metrorail      
,extension ,act4  #b4 ,findings         
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,the ,washington ,metropolitan ,area    
,transit ,authority 7,metro7 maintains  
the second largest rail network in the  
,nation4  7#b7 ,local and ,state        
governments in the ,national ,capital   
,region have led efforts to extend      
,metrorail service1 and any future      
,metrorail extension will be provided   
only with their collaboration1          
consistent with local planning          

objectives4  7#c7 ,in the most recent   
draft strategic plan1 ,momentum3 ,the   
,next ,generation of ,metro1 ,metro     
identifies future expansion             
opportunities1 including the ,orange    
,line in ,virginia from ,vienna to      
,centreville and the ,blue ,line in     
,virginia from ,franconia-,springfield  
to ,prince ,william4  7#d7 ,more than   
#abj1jjj ,federal employees ride ,metro 
to work1 accounting for more than #dj   
percent of the morning rush-hour        
ridership4  7#e7 ,more than half of     
,metro's current stations are located on
 ,federal property4  7#f7 ,the ,federal 
government has partnered with the ,state
 and local governments to provide #cjj  
million1 consisting of #aej million in  
,federal funds to match #ej million each
 from ,virginia1 ,maryland1 and the     
,district of ,columbia 7,public ,law    
#aaj-dcb71 over a #aj-year period for   
safety and other capital improvements   
throughout the ,metro system4  7#g7     
,metro takes #ehj1jjj cars off the road 

each day1 eliminates the need for #a1djj
 lane miles of highway1 reduces gas     
consumption by #ge million gallons      
annually1 and eliminates more than      
#aj1jjj tons of greenhouse gas emissions
 annually4  7#h7 ,metrorail stations    
encourage transit-oriented development1 
which is critical to protecting open    
space throughout the region4  7#i7      
,metro stimulates economic and job      
growth1 and real estate near ,metrorail 
stations is worth in excess of #be      
billion4  7#aj7 ,the ,virginia          
,department of ,transportation and the  
,department of ,rail and ,public        
,transit completed a ,major ,investment 
,study that concluded that a multimodal 
transportation strategy is required to  
accommodate projected travel demand in  
,virginia along ,interstate ,route #ff  
from ,interstate ,route #die to the     
,centreville and ,haymarket communities1
 areas which would be served by the     
proposed ,orange ,line extension4  7#aa7
 ,the population of the area to be      

served by the proposed ,orange ,line    
extension is expected to be #fha1jjj    
individuals by #bjbe1 while employment  
in the area is projected to increase to 
#cfb1jjj individuals4  7#ab7 ,the       
population of the area to be served by  
the proposed ,blue and ,yellow ,line    
extensions grew by #abj1jjj people      
between #bjjj and #bjaj1 and continued  
growth of another #ajj1jjj people is    
expected by #bjbj4  7#ac7 ,the          
,comprehensive ,plans for both ,fairfax 
and ,prince ,william counties identify  
the need to develop alternative transit 
concepts1 including an extension of the 
existing ,metrorail lines4  7#ad7 ,as a 
result of military base realignments and
 closures1 thousands of national        
defense-related ,federal and civilian   
jobs will shift from the area of        
,crystal ,city1 ,virginia1 which is     
served by ,metrorail1 to ,fort ,belvoir1
 ,virginia1 and the ,engineer ,proving  
,ground in southern ,fairfax1 neither of
 which is currently served by ,metro4   

7#ae7 ,department of ,defense analysis  
shows many of those employees are coming
 from points south and west4  7#af7     
,additional jobs growth along the       
,richmond ,highway 7,route #a7 corridor 
and ,interstate ,route #ie in both      
,fairfax and ,prince ,william counties1 
including communities like ,mount       
,vernon1 ,woodbridge1 and ,potomac      
,mills1 adds further urgency to the need
 to expand ,metro service in ,northern  
,virginia4  7#ag7 ,to ensure the        
regional transportation network can     
accommodate projected growth1 it is     
critical that extensions of transit     
service are coordinated with local land 
use planning1 including the use of smart
 growth principles and transit-oriented 
development4  #c4 ,new fixed guideway   
capital projects1 ,northern ,virginia   
,the following projects are deemed to   
have entered the project development    
phase under section #ecji7;d77#a7 of    
title #di1 ,united ,states ,code3  7#a7 
,northern ,virginia--,extension of      

,metrorail ,blue ,line to include the   
,engineer ,proving ,ground and the      
,interstate ,route #ie corridor in      
,fairfax and ,prince ,william counties4 
7#b7 ,northern ,virginia--,extension of 
,metrorail ,orange ,line to             
,centreville4  7#c7 ,northern           
,virginia--,extension of ,metrorail     
,yellow ,line to the ,richmond ,highway 
7,route #a7 corridor in ,fairfax and    
,prince ,william counties4