Waxman Hurls New Roadblock at Metro Rail

The House unexpectedly voted to block federal spending for the on-again, off-again Los Angeles Metro Rail Thursday, threatening plans to break ground in October for the initial 4.4-mile subway leg of the project.

Metro Rail supporters vowed to get the funds restored in another House vote, possibly as early as next week.

The Metro Rail setback was engineered by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), a one-time Metro Rail booster turned critic, who persuaded colleagues to back a construction ban for the 18.5-mile rapid transit system until local transit officials could prove that it would not be destroyed by an earthquake or trigger underground gas explosions.

Narrow Margin

By a slim 210-201 margin, the Democratic-controlled chamber added the Waxman restrictions to a larger measure authorizing federally funded highway and rapid transit projects.

Metro Rail supporters accused Waxman of misleading lawmakers about the project and expressed confidence that they would get the vote rescinded when the House resumes consideration of the transit measure.

“This Henry Waxman proposal will not be enacted into law,” a House staff member close to the issue declared confidently after the vote.

However, the top transit official in the Reagan Administration, which strongly opposes the project, said Thursday that the Waxman amendment could not only indefinitely put off the ground breaking but also threaten the later phases of the project.

“For them it’s kind of like being tackled on the three-yard line,” said Ralph Stanley, head of the Urban Mass Transit Administration. “It’s a major setback toward what happens after (the first) four miles.”

Had Seen Victory

Indeed, only a month ago local officials jubilantly proclaimed victory in their protracted struggle when Stanley grudgingly agreed to release $225.3 million for the project that had been previously approved by Congress but embargoed by the Administration. Last week, the House voted to add another $110 million in Metro Rail spending for fiscal 1987, while the Senate Appropriations Committee endorsed its own, slightly marked-down version of that spending package Thursday, hours before Waxman’s coup.

Waxman began raising questions about the project last year after part of his congressional district was rocked by an unusual underground methane gas explosion. One of the projected routes for the second phase of the system ran near the explosion site, causing Waxman to express concern that tunneling could trigger a similar blast.

Transit experts, after studying the possibility, decided that with adequate precautions, such an incident would be unlikely.

During debate Thursday, however, Waxman said that proceeding with the project as planned “may end up blowing up the workers and the riders.” He claimed that, with an estimated price tag of $1.1 billion to complete the first 4.4 miles, Metro Rail would be the “most expensive subway system in the world” and said it was “ridiculous” to start work on a system while authorities were still trying to work out the final route for it.

Influence of Deficit

Later, in an interview, he acknowledged that his cause may have been helped by the release Thursday of disturbing economic projections indicating that the federal budget deficit next year may be much larger than originally thought. “Many members felt if they had a chance to cut $1 billion in spending on a subway system in a congressional district whose representative doesn’t want it then it was an offer they couldn’t refuse,” he said.

But Metro Rail backers accused Waxman of distorting details of the project. For example, they pointed out, the first leg, running from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles along the Wilshire corridor to Alvarado Street, lies entirely outside Waxman’s district, and the second phase may skip his district entirely under some of the optional routes being considered.

Furthermore, according to a House aide who deals with transportation issues, cancellation of the project would not save any money because the law requires that unused Metro Rail funds be diverted to transit projects elsewhere in the country.

Rep. Glenn M. Anderson (D-Harbor City), chairman of the House Public Works subcommittee that oversees Metro Rail authorization, strongly defended the project, arguing that it was needed because the general route of the system from downtown to the San Fernando Valley was “the most densely developed corridor outside of New York.”

Promise to Switch

Another strong supporter, Los Angeles Democratic Rep. Julian C. Dixon said several lawmakers who voted against the project promised to switch votes next time around and said they were misled into believing that most of the project was in Waxman’s district. “Obviously many members were misinformed and I intend to work hard to turn the votes around next week,” Dixon said.

Even if they fail to reverse the vote, backers noted that they could kill the Waxman amendment in a House-Senate conference committee where Anderson, in his position as subcommittee chairman, would control negotiations over the final shape of the transit authorization package.

In Los Angeles, supporters dismissed the House amendment as a minor, and temporary, setback.

Tom Houston, chief deputy to Mayor Tom Bradley, said the project has enough support in the House to win eventual approval but that supporters were caught unawares by Waxman’s maneuver. “We had the votes yesterday,” Houston said. “We’re disappointed but optimistic that we can turn it around.”

Senate approval is assured, Houston contended, because of the strong backing for Metro Rail by both California senators.

Disregard Vote

Officials of the Southern California Rapid Transit District said they plan to disregard Thursday’s vote and move forward with plans to start work on the subway. A contract agreed to by the Reagan Administration--under pressure from Congress--to finance the first 4.4-mile segment will be submitted next week to the Los Angeles City Council and the county Transportation Commission for final approval.

Bob Secter reported from Washington and Kevin Roderick from Los Angeles