Across the country grain is piling up because the nation’s freight railroads won’t haul it to market. Meanwhile, the railroads are jacking up rates on farmers and reporting record profits. Click here to see why farmers are buried in piles of grain, while railroads are buried in piles of green.

In a recent letter to Congressional leaders, the attorneys general of twenty-one states urged both the Senate and House to move forward on legislation supported by CURE that would remove the railroad industry’s antitrust exemptions. The letter underscored the adverse consequences that every state and industry face as a result of unrestrained railroad monopoly power.

Because of poor railroad service and outrageous rail rates, consumers are paying more for everything from food to electricity and businesses are thinking twice about locating in areas that are captive to a single railroad. This means lost jobs, wages and economic opportunities for the states and their citizens while railroads continue to rake in the cash thanks to their ability to charge rail customers as much as they would like.

As the state attorneys general noted in their letter, the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act (S. 772 and H.R. 1650) currently pending in Congress would remove the railroads’ antitrust exemptions and bring them under the nation’s basic laws that ensure competition in every other industry. Opening the industry to competition will help break the four major railroad companies’ stronghold on American businesses and consumers. S. 772 has already been reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee to the full Senate while HR 1650, the companion bill in the House, is currently pending before the House Judiciary Committee.

According to the state attorneys general: “Rail customers in our states in a variety of industries are suffering from the classic symptoms of unrestrained monopoly power: unreasonably high and arbitrary rates and poor service, and this legislation is a part of the solution.”

This letter also marks yet another example of the widespread support for rail reform legislation that is only continuing to grow. In 2007, we participated in several Congressional hearings in the House and Senate that alerted lawmakers to the problems and very real consequences stemming from the railroad industry’s abuse of their monopoly power. As we move forward, we can expect additional hearings on rail reform issues as well as a full House and Senate vote on our legislation.

As Forbes Magazine recently noted, the push for rail reform certainly will be one of the major battles on Capitol Hill in 2008. We look forward to working with you throughout the rest of 2007 and into 2008 to finally achieve our goals of rail reform.

I invite you to explore the rest of our web site and the issues that are of concern to CURE and its members as we continue our fight to bring fairness and equity to the freight rail system.

Glenn English
Chairman
Consumers United for Rail Equity