Rep. Steny Hoyer visits DC Metro headquarters

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) visited the headquarters of the Washington, D.C. area's subway system, MetroRail, on Friday.

Hoyer, who represents a suburban Maryland district in close proximity to the capital city, tweeted a picture of himself and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) General Manager Richard Sarles.

WMATA has come under fire for its performance in recent year, particularly from lawmakers who represent Maryland and Northern Virginia.

The recently approved $105 billion transportation bill expanded the federal government's ability to regulate public transportation agencies like WMATA. The change gives the federal government power, for the first time, to do more than tie safety requirements to future funding.

Previously, agencies like WMATA were overseen only by regional panels like a tri-state committee composed of officials from D.C., Maryland and Virginia that inspects Metro. 

Below is a picture Hoyer tweeted of himself and Metro GM Sarles:

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