,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ccf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #e1 #bjag,mr4 ,meadows 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 ,mrs4 ,comstock1 ,mr4 ,schweikert1 and ,mr4 ,beyer7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to provide transit benefits to ,federal employees who use the services of digital transportation companies within the national capital region1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 findings 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,transit ,benefits ,modernization ,act4 7b7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,washington ,metropolitan ,area ,transit ,authority 7,,wmata7 provides approximately #b4c million ,metrorail and ,metrobus trips per year across the ,national ,capital ,region to ,federal employees1 commuters1 and millions of visitors to the ,nation's capital4 7#b7 ,approximately #dj percent of ,,wmata peak-hour commuters are ,federal employees4 7#c7 ,,wmata began building its rail system in #aifi1 currently serves #ia stations1 and has #aag miles of track4 7#d7 ,the ,federal ,transit ,administration 7,,fta7 and the ,national ,transportation ,safety ,board have found significant safety concerns resulting from a backlog of deferred maintenance4 7#e7 ,,wmata has designed a plan1 called ,safe,track1 in an effort to address this backlog of deferred maintenance4 7#f7 ,safe,track would close the system earlier on weekends and expand weekday maintenance by reducing the number of rails in use at certain stations from two to one4 7#g7 ,the plan includes #ae ,safety ,surges with around-the-clock single tracking or segment shutdowns that will impact rush hour commutes4 7#h7 ,,fta's review of ,safe,track's first two safety surge areas found a number of defects in the plan's execution4 7#i7 ,safe,track is scheduled to conclude in ,march #bjag4 7#aj7 ,during ,safe,track1 ,,wmata is encouraging customers to utilize other commuting options1 including ride-sharing services4 7#aa7 ,,wmata has indicated that service disruptions will continue to occur following ,safe,track as routine maintenance is needed4 7#ab7 ,the ,federal ,government1 which is negatively affected when employees cannot easily commute to and from work1 has an interest in assisting employees with alternate commuting options4 #b4 ,providing a fringe transit benefit for use of transportation network companies ,for purposes of section #acb7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 the use of a transportation network company by ,federal employees as provided for in this ,act shall be treated as a fringe benefit which qualifies as a qualified transportation fringe for the period established in section #c7;a7 of this ,act4 #c4 ,transit benefits for ,federal employees for the use of digital transportation companies 7a7 ,in ,general ,during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this ,act and ending on ,december #ca1 #bjah1 any agency that has a program1 including a program established under section #gije of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 or ,executive ,order #acaej 7,april #ba1 #bjjj2 #fe ,fed4 ,reg4 #bdfac71 to provide transit benefits to employees of the agency shall provide transit benefits to employees who use the services of any digital transportation company within the ,washington ,metropolitan ,area in the same manner as such agency provides transit benefits to employees who use public transportation services within the ,washington ,metropolitan ,area4 7b7 ,requirements 7#a7 ,election ,unless otherwise statutorily authorized1 an employee may receive transit benefits under this section only if the employee agrees in writing to not accept any other transit or parking benefit offered by the head of any agency with a transit benefit program while receiving the transit benefits under this section4 7#b7 ,limitation ,the amount of the transit benefit provided to an employee under this section during any month for the use of services provided by any digital transportation company may not exceed the amount of the monthly average transit benefit received by the employee during the #f-month period immediately preceding the month during which an election is made under paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,implementation ,transit benefits under this section shall be provided in a manner substantially similar to the manner in which transit benefits are provided to employees who use mass transportation services4 ,the head of any agency with a transit benefit program may consult with any digital transportation company and any other head of any agency with a transit benefit program to establish the procedures necessary to provide transit benefits under this section4 7#d7 ,substantiation ,the head of any agency with a transit benefit program1 the ,secretary of the ,department of ,transportation1 and the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall1 in connection with the establishment of a process for implementing the transit benefit for any digital transportation company1 work with any such digital transportation company in establishing a process to substantiate the use of transit benefits by ,federal employees using the benefit for services provided by a digital transportation company each month4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term ,washington ,metropolitan ,area means the ,district of ,columbia2 ,montgomery1 ,prince ,george's1 ,frederick1 and ,charles ,counties in ,maryland2 ,arlington1 ,fairfax1 ,loudon1 and ,prince ,william ,counties in ,virginia2 and all cities now or hereafter existing in ,maryland or ,virginia within the geographic area bounded by the outer boundaries of the combined area of said counties2 7#b7 the term digital transportation company means any transportation network company or car-sharing service2 7#c7 the term car-sharing service means a membership or non-membership based service primarily designed for shorter time or shorter distance trips where individuals are charged per mile or per hour1 or both1 for vehicle usage2 and 7#d7 the term transportation network company means a corporation1 partnership1 sole proprietorship1 or other entity that uses a digital network to connect riders to drivers affiliated with the entity in order for a driver to provide transportation services to a rider4