Loudoun Chamber Backs MWAA Reform Bill

The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday threw its support behind to reduce the membership of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors and allocate two-thirds of the seats to Virginia.

MWAA has come under fire in recent years, particularly since it took control the Metro’s Silver Line project, which would extend rail to Dulles International Airport and Ashburn. The chamber supported the rail project, but now joins those who have raised concerns about MWAA’s existing board and Virginia’s influence over it. MWAA operates Dulles and Reagan airports and the Dulles Toll Road, all of which are located in Virginia. 

“Given the MWAA Board’s ongoing challenges and the Authority’s increasing role in managing much of Northern Virginia’s most important transportation assets, Congressman Wolf’s plan to improve the governance and accountability of the MWAA Board is the right thing to do,” said chamber president Tony Howard.

Under Wolf’s proposed legislation, the board would be reduced from 13 members to nine, six of whom would be appointed by the governor of Virginia. The District of Columbia and the state of Maryland would have one seat each; the federal government would hold the third. Currently, .