91ST CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1813 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 15, 1969 Mr. TYDINGS (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia A BILL To provide public assistance to mass transit bus companies in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That, whenever the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 4 Commission (hereinafter the Commission) shall determine 5 that a just and reasonable fare for regular route transporta6 tion within the District of Columbia would exceed 25 cents, 7 the Commission shall certify to the Commissioner of the Dis8 trict of Columbia with respect to each calendar month com9 mencing with July 1969 and ending June 1972, all in10 clusive, an amount which is the difference between all fares 11 (including reduced-rate school fares) paid during such cal 3 1 Commission. The Commission may decline to make certifica2 tions for any carrier if, at any time, it finds that substantial 3 progress is not being made in the implementation of the plan 4 of that carrier. 5 SEC. 4. Section 2 of the Act entitled "An Act to pro6 vide for the regulation of fares for the transportation of 7 schoolchildren in the District of Columbia", approved Au8 gust 9, 1955 (D.C. Code, sec. 44-214a), as amended, is 9 repealed. 2 1 endar month to any carrier for regular route transportation 2 solely within the District of Columbia and the amount which 3 would have been paid for regular route transportation solely 4 within the District of Columbia during that month at the 5 rate determined by the Commission to be just and reason6able. The certification of the Commission shall be made for 7 each month as soon as practicable following the end thereof. 8 The Commissioner of the District of Columbia, upon receiv9 ing the certification of the Commission, shall pay to the 10 carrier the amount certified. Amounts paid by the Commis11 sioner pursuant to this Act shall not be considered as income 12 for Federal or District of Columbia income tax purposes. 13 SEC. 2. Any carrier receiving funds pursuant to this 14 Act shall, in the expenditure of those funds, give priority 15 to meeting obligations to employee retirement and health 16 and welfare programs. 17 21 SEC. 3. The Commission shall not make any certifica18 tion under this Act unless the carrier to which public as19 sistance payments would be made pursuant to that certifica20 tion has submitted for the approval of the Commission a comprehensive plan for the improvement of transportation 22 services by that carrier within the District of Columbia 23 and a program for the implementation of that plan. There24 after such plans and programs shall be submitted annually 25 for the approval of the Commission, at a time fixed by the 91ST CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1814 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 15, 1969 Mr. TYDINGS (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia A BILL To provide for public ownership of the mass transit bus system operated by D.C. Transit System, Incorporated; to authorize interim financial assistance for the company pending public acquisition of its bus transit facilities; and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4 SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as "District of Colum 5 bia Transit Act of 1969". 6 7 STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSES SEC. 2. The Congress finds that (1) an adequate and 8 economically sound transportation system or systems, includ9 ing bus and rail rapid transit, serving the Washington metro 2 1 politan area is essential to commerce among the several 2 States, and among such States and the District of Columbia, 3 and to the health, welfare, and safety of the public; (2) an 4 adequate mass transit bus system to operate in the District of 5 Columbia cannot be provided at the present time at reason6 able fares by the ordinary operations of private enterprise 7 without public participation; (3) economies and improve8 ment of service will result from the unification of bus transit 9 and rail transit operations as well as from integration of bus 10 transit facilities within the Washington metropolitan area; (4) the Washington metropolitan area pursuant to Interstate 12 Compact among the States of Maryland and Virginia, and the 13 District of Columbia, with the consent of Congress, to plan, 14 develop, finance, and cause to be operated improved transit 15 facilities in the Washington metropolitan area transit zone; (5) the only feasible solution to the current bus transporta17 tion problem in the District of Columbia is public ownership 18 and operation of the D.C. Transit System, Incorporated; (6) 16 19 to these ends it is necessary to enact the provisions herein20 after set forth. 21 22 2 2 2 ACQUISITION OF D.C. TRANSIT SYSTEM, INCORPORATED SEC. 3. (a) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 23 Authority should initiate negotiations with the ownership of D.C. Transit System, Incorporated, for acquisition at the 25 earliest practicable date by the Authority of all its facilities, |