Northern Virginia Technology Council Endorses Legislation to Reform Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

H.R. 6356, sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf, would give Virginia majority voice on issues impacting Dulles Corridor

HERNDON, Va., Aug. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) today announced its endorsement of H.R. 6356, legislation introduced by Congressman Frank Wolf to reduce the size of the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) and provide Virginia a clear majority of the seats.  

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Virginia's Dulles Corridor is a tremendous driver of our statewide economic growth. NVTC urges passage of this legislation to ensure that Virginia appointees will have a stronger say over the imposition of increased tolls that will substantially impact Virginia commuters and Virginia technology businesses along the Dulles Corridor.  We commend Congressman Wolf for championing this legislation and also U.S. Senate candidates Tim Kaine and George Allen for their bipartisan support of this measure.

The current composition of the MWAA Board affords Virginia only five of 13 seats on the authority. Under this structure, a majority of MWAA appointees, who neither live nor work in Virginia, can vote to raise tolls on the Dulles Corridor over the objections of every Virginia representative on the MWAA Board. If enacted, this legislation will prevent such a situation from occurring by reducing the size of the MWAA Board from 13 members to nine, six of whom would be appointed by the Governor of Virginia.  The District of Columbia, the state of Maryland and the federal government would have one seat each. 

Given that both airports overseen by MWAA, the new Metro Silver Line, and the toll collection facilities are all located in Virginia, we believe it is logical for Virginia to have a majority voice on the MWAA Board in order to have more influence over issues that impact the future viability and economic vitality of the Commonwealth.

The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) is the membership and trade association for the technology community in Northern Virginia. As the largest technology council in the nation, NVTC serves about 1,000 companies from all sectors of the technology industry, as well as service providers, universities, foreign embassies, nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. Through its member companies, NVTC represents about 200,000 employees in the region. NVTC is recognized as the nation's leader in providing its technology community with networking and educational events; specialized services and benefits; public policy advocacy; branding of its region as a major global technology center; initiatives in targeted business sectors and in the international, entrepreneurship, workforce and education arenas; the Equal Footing Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that serves local area youth; and The Entrepreneur Center @NVTC, which mentors new technology entrepreneurs. Visit NVTC at www.nvtc.org.

SOURCE Northern Virginia Technology Council

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