3.0.0 919 2023-01-15T23:33:08Z 2023-01-15T23:33:08Z Senate S S 2003-04-11 108 sscm00 Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Senate Standing sscm08 Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee Hearings by 2003-10-23T20:48:00Z Referred to 2003-04-11T22:30:34Z Railroad Competition Act of 2003 108 2924 HR 2003-07-28 Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads. Related bill CRS 2003-10-23 sscm08 Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 108-965. Committee 2003-04-11 sscm00 Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. IntroReferral 2003-04-11 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress B001126 Sen. Burns, Conrad R. [R-MT] CONRAD BURNS R MT R. N R000361 Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV] JAY ROCKEFELLER D WV 2003-04-11 True D000432 Sen. Dorgan, Byron L. [D-ND] BYRON DORGAN D ND LESLIE 2003-04-11 True C000858 Sen. Craig, Larry E. [R-ID] LARRY CRAIG R ID EDWIN 2003-04-11 True B000243 Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT] MAX BAUCUS D MT SIEBEN 2003-04-11 True C001057 Sen. Coleman, Norm [R-MN] Norm Coleman R MN 2003-04-11 True J000177 Sen. Johnson, Tim [D-SD] TIM JOHNSON D SD 2003-04-11 True D000596 Sen. Dayton, Mark [D-MN] MARK DAYTON D MN 2003-05-06 False Transportation and Public Works Administrative procedure Administrative remedies Agriculture and Food Antitrust law Commerce Commercial arbitration Competition Congress Congressional reporting requirements Damages Data banks Department of Agriculture Electronic government information Evidence (Law) Executive reorganization Forest products Government Operations and Politics Governmental investigations Injunctions Law Ombudsman Price discrimination Public Lands and Natural Resources Railroad freight operations Railroad management Railroad rates Railroad terminals Railroads Restrictive trade practices Surface Transportation Board Transportation and Public Works 00 2003-04-11 Introduced in Senate 2004-02-19T17:14:34Z Railroad Competition Act of 2003 - Amends Federal transportation law to specify the primary objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy.

Requires submission to arbitration of certain rail rate, service, and other disputes.

Prohibits the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from issuing a certificate authorizing construction and operation of railroad lines, or exempt from such certificate requirement any related activity, that involves a transfer of interest in a line of railroad, from a Class I rail carrier to a Class II or III rail carrier, if the activity directly or indirectly would result in a restriction of: (1) the ability of the Class II or Class III rail carrier to interchange traffic with other carriers; or (2) competition between or among rail carriers in the region affected by the activity in a manner or to an extent that would violate Federal antitrust laws.

Prescribes a procedure for shipper petition and STB review of any activity alleged to have resulted in a restricition of competition for at least ten years.

Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the STB to require: (1) a rail carrier's terminal facilities to be used by another rail carrier subject to certain conditions; and (2) rail carriers to enter into reciprocal switching agreements. Prohibits the STB, in either instance, from requiring evidence of anticompetitive conduct by a rail carrier from which such access is sought.

Requires a rail carrier, upon shipper request, to establish a rate for transportation and provide requested service between any two points on the carrier's system where traffic originates, terminates, or may reasonably be interchanged. Specifies matters the carrier must disregard when establishing such rate.

Specifies matters the STB must disregard when determining the reasonableness of a shipper-challenged rate established by a rail carrier with market dominance.

Requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct comprehensive triennial studies on rail carrier competition and STB processes.

Requires to STB to designate any State or part of a State as an area of inadequate rail competition after finding that: (1) it encompasses a significant number of rail shipping origins and destinations served exclusively by only one Class I railroad; or (2) a significant number of the persons that ship by rail or receive rail shipments in it usually find it necessary to pay rates exceeding a certain mark, or have experienced competitive disadvantage in the marketplace or other economic adversity because of high cost or poor rail service quality. Specifies actions the STB may take to resolve such anti-competitive conditions.

Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish within the Department of Agriculture an Office of Rail Customer Advocacy, headed by a Rail Customer Advocate who shall: (1) collect information on the cost and efficiency of rail transportation of agricultural and forestry commodities or products; (2) perform related studies; and (3) participate as a party in STB proceedings regarding regulation of such transportation, as well as to initiate any petitions for STB action.

]]> Railroad Competition Act of 2003 Display Title Railroad Competition Act of 2003 Official Title as Introduced A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance competition among and between rail carriers in order to ensure efficient rail service and reasonable rail rates, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Railroad Competition Act of 2003 Introduced in Senate 2003-04-11T04:00:00Z 2003-10-23 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 108-965. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.