MADISON, Wis., March 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A coalition of Wisconsin freight rail customers is rallying behind bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) that would level the playing field by subjecting railroads to the same rules of competition as other industries and the customers they serve. Today, Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Norm Coleman (R- Minn.), David Vitter (R-La.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) joined Kohl in introducing the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007, legislation to repeal antitrust exemptions currently held by the railroad industry.
“Our nation’s rail policy needs to be fixed; it is not meeting the economic needs of our state or our country,” said Mike Turner, executive director of WI Crop Production Association and member of Badger-CURE. “We commend Senators Kohl and Feingold for recognizing the severity of Wisconsin’s freight rail problems and taking congressional action to solve them.”
The coalition argues that the antitrust exemptions run counter to Congress’ goals when it reformed the railroads in 1980. Competition was supposed to guide federal rail policy.
Since 1980, a new railroad monopoly has emerged; today four major railroads move 90 percent of our nation’s freight, with two operating in the West and two in the East. In fact, an October 2006 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that there is ” … a reasonable possibility that shippers in selected markets may be paying excessive rates related to a lack of competition.”
“The GAO report is validated by our experience,” said David Jenkins, manager with the WI Electric Cooperative Association. “The concentrated ownership of key parts of our nation’s rail routes has led to soaring rates and unreliable service by the railroads.”
In a letter thanking Senator Kohl for his effort, the coalition noted impacts of poor rail service in Wisconsin identified during hearings held by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The PSC reported a $75 million increase in electric rates due to disruptions in rail coal deliveries to Wisconsin utilities.
ABOUT BADGER-CURE:
The Badger-CURE coalition is comprised of 45 Wisconsin businesses and organizations representing key state industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and electric utilities that rely on rail to ship or receive commodities, as well as energy customers groups and union utility workers. For more information visit http://www.railcure.org/.
