[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 10 (Thursday, January 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S866-S867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO GUS OWEN, FORMER SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEMBER

 Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate Gus Owen, the 
immediate past Vice Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), 
for his outstanding service to the nation. Gus Owen completed his term 
of service on the STB on December 31, 1998, after more than four years 
of public service. It is most fitting that we recognize Mr. Owen's 
service because he met the challenge at a critical time in the history 
of railroad regulation.
  As the last Commissioner sworn in to serve on the Interstate Commerce 
Commission, Mr. Owen was instrumental in shaping the direction of the 
STB, the ICC's successor. Mr. Owen's vision of a more streamlined 
deregulated transportation industry is reflected in his many 
accomplishments while serving on the ICC and the STB. As the 104th 
Congress began consideration of overhauling Government oversight of the 
surface transportation industry, Mr. Owen prepared a ``Blueprint for 
Further Deregulation of the Surface Transportation Industry.'' This 
plan contained a 34-point analysis of the industry that endorsed 
market-based solutions over government regulation. Much of Mr. Owen's 
plan served as a basis for the ICC Termination Act of 1995, which 
authorized the replacement of the ICC with the more streamlined STB.

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  In his capacity as STB Member, Mr. Owen reviewed and voted on cases 
involving complicated antitrust, service, competition, environment, and 
labor issues, including the three largest railroad mergers in the 
history of the United States. These were the 1995 Burlington Northern-
Santa Fe merger, the 1996 Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger, and 
the 1998 CSX-Norfolk Southern-Conrail merger. Mr. Owen's insight, 
judgment, and expertise were key to the Board's successful adjudication 
of these incredibly complex cases.
  Gus Owen has returned to the private sector and his family in 
California after an extremely successful four years of public service. 
The Nation has lost a talented, pragmatic, and respected STB Member, 
whose work with the transportation industry will have a significant and 
beneficial impact on that industry and our economy. We take pride in 
his record and wish him well in his return to private life.

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