LaHood to testify at House hearing about DC airport authority

By Keith Laing - 11/15/12 10:45 AM ET

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will testify Friday at a House hearing about the panel that oversees the Washington, D.C., region's airports.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will review “management concerns” with the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA), which oversees Washington's Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport. The airports were formerly managed by the Federal Aviation Administration before the independent airport authority was created in the 1980s.

The MWAA is also in charge of construction of a $6 billion extension of the Washington area's MetroRail subway system to Dulles airport, which is one of the largest transportation projects under construction in the country. The Metro extension has received $900 million from the federal government.

LaHood has previously called for changes at the D.C. airport authority, which has come under fire for its contracting procedures and member travel as the MetroRail extension has been constructed. The DOT appointed an "accountability officer" earlier this year to oversee the airport authority and report to LaHood.

The Transportation secretary will be joined at Friday’s House hearing by Department of Transportation Inspector General Calvin Scovel III and MWAA Chairman Michael Curto.