[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          REAUTHORIZATION OF THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise today to express my 
disappointment that S. 1802, the reauthorization of the Surface 
Transportation Board (Board), failed to pass the Senate. I have spoken 
out in favor of the Board on many occasions. I want to reemphasize 
today my commitment to seeing that the Board will be in business for a 
long time and will be given the resources that it needs to continue its 
vital work.
  The Board is the independent economic regulatory agency that oversees 
the Nation's rail and surface transportation industries. A healthy 
transportation system is critical to sustaining a vibrant and growing 
economy. Under the able and forward-looking leadership of Linda Morgan, 
the Board's Chairman, who was with us on the Commerce Committee for 
many years, the Board has worked to ensure that the transportation 
system is both healthy and responsive. Although it was established to 
be principally an adjudicatory body, the Board has reached out to the 
transportation community in an unprecedented way. It has handled the 
crisis in the West appropriately, letting the private sector work it 
out where possible, but intervening when necessary. It has initiated 
proceedings at the request of Senator McCain and Senator Hutchison to 
review the status of access and competition in the railroad industry, 
and its actions have produced a mix of government action and private-
sector solutions. With its staff of 135, it puts out more work than 
much larger agencies, issuing well-reasoned, thoughtful, and balanced 
decisions in tough, contentious cases. Just recently, in the Conrail 
acquisition case, the Board issued one such decision that is good for 
my State, and for the Nation.
  But the Board is stretched thin. It needs to train new people to 
replace the many employees who are likely to retire soon. And next 
year, it will continue to expend resources monitoring the 
implementation of the Conrail acquisition and the rest of the rail 
network. The Board needs adequate resources to do the hard work that we 
expect it to do.
  Because we need the Board, and because the Board has done a fine job, 
I am here today supporting a clean reauthorization bill. I supported 
the Staggers Act when it was passed, and I think in large part it has 
been a success.
  I know that there is some concern about how our transportation system 
ought to look, and that there are many important issues on the table 
right now. Several of those issues are being handled by the Board, in 
connection with its competition and access hearings. I am confident 
that the Board will do the right thing with the issues before it.
  However, some of the tougher issues that have not yet been resolved--
for example, the substantially more open access that some shippers 
want--are not for the Board. They are for us, and they are real. But 
the fact that the railroads and those who use the system have a lot of 
ground to cover on these legislative issues should not hold up the 
Board's reauthorization. Legislative change is our job. The Board, 
working with the law we gave it, has done its job. I want to thank the 
Board in general, and Chairman Morgan in particular, who has my 
unqualified support, for a job well done. The Nation needs agencies 
like the Board and public servants like Chairman Morgan.

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