[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 15, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ICC TERMINATION ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. THOMAS W. EWING

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2539) to 
     abolish the Interstate Commerce Commission, to amend subtitle 
     IV of title 49, United States Code, to reform economic 
     regulation of transportation, and for other purposes:

  Mr. EWING. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend you for moving H.R. 2539, 
the ICC Termination Act of 1995, forward in a timely fashion. As 
Members may be aware the Interstate Commerce Commission [ICC] will be 
terminated on December 5 of this year, and without new legislation in 
place, the existing cumbersome and obsolete 19th century ICC statute 
will remain on the books.
  While there is solid bipartisan support for termination of the ICC, 
the difficulty of dismantling 100 years of transportation and 
commercial law has certainly become evident. However, in dismantling 
the ICC and moving its remaining critical functions to the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, care must be taken to protect vulnerable 
interests, like captive shippers.
  The provisions of the bill which encourage class II railroads to 
purchase lines that would otherwise be abandoned by larger class I 
railroads must be retained or captive shippers could see their service 
disappear entirely. Unfortunately, adoption of Representative 
Whitfield's proposed amendment would upset the careful balance in the 
bill and could discourage class II railroads from investing in lines 
scheduled for abandonment. Congress should not impose an unfunded 
mandate on class II railroads and create an environment where essential 
railroad service is lost because the costs of assuming existing labor 
agreements and severance benefits is prohibitive. For this reason, I 
urge my colleagues to support the committee language and reject the 
Whitfield amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I also appreciate your willingness to address other 
issues of importance to American agriculture and for working with 
members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who 
represent agricultural districts. Agriculture is heavily dependent upon 
rail service to move products to market. For many rural and smalltown 
farmers there is only one grain elevator and one rail line available. 
The ability to move commodities in a timely fashion is critical to 
remaining in business. When faced with these monopolistic circumstances 
some reasonable regulation is essential.
  I am pleased the legislation before the House today clarifies the 
exemptions language in the bill, grants the adjudication panel the 
authority to deny abandonments, includes contract summary filing 
language, restores investigation authority, and restores the existing 
20 days rate-change-notification requirement. However, I remain 
concerned about potential railcar supply shortages and the percentage 
of rolling stock that could be contracted out under the common carrier 
provisions of the bill.
  Railcar shortages boost the price farmers and elevators must pay to 
move crops to market, thereby lowering the amount farmers receive for 
their crops. In fact, Midwestern agriculture is already facing acute 
railcar shortages resulting from increased demand, instability in the 
railroad industry caused by proposed mergers, and high barge shipping 
rates. While I am not advocating excessive regulation to protect 
agriculture, the final ICC termination legislation should not worsen 
the situation unnecessarily.
  Mr. Chairman, I plan to continue working with you on this issue and I 
urge you to consider accepting the common carrier language contained in 
the Senate's ICC termination bill when this legislation goes to 
conference.
  Again, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for the leadership you have 
demonstrated in working with Members who represent agricultural 
interests. Although H.R. 2539 is not perfect, and some additional work 
is necessary, I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 2539.

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