A broad coalition of agriculture groups are calling on Congress to pass the Railroad
Antitrust Enforcement Act when the session resumes in September.
The American Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union joined forces to ask for help
in fighting what they view as unfair practices by the railroads.
"Rural America is getting fleeced by the railroads, one shipment at a time," said Glenn
English, chairman of Consumers United for Rail Equity and CEO of the National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association. "Rural areas are more likely to be served by only one
railroad, and railroads use that unrestrained market power to drive up prices with
overcharges on everything from grain shipments for food and fuel to coal for electricity."
The American Coalition for Ethanol, the Alliance for Rural America, a 13-member
coalition whose member organizations include the American Corn Growers Association,
the National Farmers Organization, and the American Agriculture Movement are lending
their collective weight to the lobbying effort for legislation that would end railroads'
exemption from antitrust law.
The Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act has passed both the House and Senate Judiciary
Committees by a bipartisan voice vote. It awaits action by the full House and Senate.
