Budget Deal Includes Funds For D.C. Metro
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington area's Metro transit system will receive $150 million in federal funds for safety upgrades under the budget deal agreed to by Congressional leaders last week.
An earlier budget proposal from House Republicans would have stripped the funding for Metro.
Congress passed a bill in 2008 that promised $1.5 billion over 10 years for upgrades to Metro, but the money must be appropriated every year. The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia are matching those funds.
The aging subway and bus system is the nation's second-busiest. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, says the funding "will be used to make important, life-saving improvements."
A Metrorail crash in 2009 killed nine people and injured dozens more. It was the worst in the system's history.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
