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Press Releases |
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Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Freight Railroad Service, Capacity
– 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 21, in 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building – |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee will hold a hearing on economics, service and capacity issues in the freight railroad industry at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 21, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 562, according to U.S. Senator Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, subcommittee chairman, who is convening the hearing at the request of U.S. Senator Conrad Burns, R-Montana.
Witnesses will include railroad and shipping representatives, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and the General Accountability Office (GAO), Senator Lott said. He said that GAO will present preliminary findings from its study on recent rate changes in the freight rail industry, whether those changes suggest the need for alternatives to the current framework for regulating freight railroad rates and how projected future demand for freight rail compares with projected future capacity.
Senators Lott and Burns, joined by six other Subcommittee Senators, last year asked GAO to investigate and report on the performance of the current regulatory structure in striking the appropriate balance between the interests of railroads, shippers and the need for an adequate national transportation system to support the nation’s economy. Senator Lott stressed his hope that the GAO report will help the Subcommittee promote the balance between ensuring fair and high quality service to shippers and a safe and productive rail system as the panel considers the reauthorization of the STB.
Senator Burns is a leading advocate on rail issues and bringing competition to areas dominated by a single railroad. In April 2005, Senator Burns introduced S. 919, the Railroad Competition Act, not the subject of the June 21 hearing, but a comprehensive proposal that would restrict the major railroads from precluding competition from short-line railroads and reforming the STB to provide a workable forum for dispute resolution. Senator Burns has complained that Montana businesses and consumers battle monopoly power on a regular basis, because the state is served by only one railroad, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe.
“Right now our small businesses and energy customers are being taken advantage of by the railroads, simply because they can,” said Senator Burns. “I have introduced a bill that will limit these monopolistic abuses which restrict competition and improve dispute resolution. I was not sent here to oversee a monopoly.”
A full witness list for the June 21 hearing will be announced at a later date.
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28th - |
Committee Approves Communications Reform Bill
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today by a bipartisan vote of 15 to 7 approved its comprehensive communications reform bill, which contains provisions that speed the deployment of broadband and stimulate competition in the video service market.
The legislation, now named the Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunity Reform Act, incorpor...
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27th - |
Congress Sends Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill to President
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the conference report for H.R. 889, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2006. On June 22, the U.S. Senate adopted by unanimous consent a resolution that deemed the conference report passed upon the House’s acceptance of the Senate’s correcting language. The bill now goes to the President for his signature.
Th...
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26th - |
Chairman Stevens' Opening Statement at the Communications Reform Bill Markup
- Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) gave the following opening statement at the Committees markup of the Communications, Consumers Choice, and Broadband Deploayment Act:
Today we mark up the Communications, Consumers’ Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act. The measure is the work product of every Member of this Committee. It incorporates suggestions, language, a...
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23rd - |
Chairman Stevens Commends Secretary Mineta for His Impact on Transportation Sector
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) today issued the following statement upon learning of the resignation announcement of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta:
“Norm and I have worked together very closely over the years. He has really been a tremendous Secretary for the transportation area. Because of his long service in the House of Repre...
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22nd - |
Chairman Stevens Applauds Committee Members for Bipartisan Leadership on Interoperability Funding
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) today applauded his colleagues for adopting by voice vote an amendment that makes $1 billion available for first responders by October 1, 2006. These funds provide firefighters, police, and medical personnel with the necessary radio equipment to communicate with one another in the event of a terrorist attack or majo...
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19th - |
Senate Approves Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today approved by unanimous consent S. 2012, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2005.
The bill has received broad bipartisan support among the Members of the Senate Commerce Committee. The bill was introduced by Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), with...
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7th - |
Chairman Stevens Addresses NCTA Key Contacts Breakfast
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) today addressed company representatives and state/regional cable association executives at the National Cable and Telecommunications Associations Key Contacts Breakfast. Chairman Stevens spoke generally on a range of telecom reform topics, including decency, franchise reform, and net neutrality.
The followin...
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6th - |
Senate Approves Legislation to Implement the U.S.-Russian Polar Bear Treaty
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today unanimously approved S. 2013, the United States-Russia Polar Bear Conservation and Management Implementation Act. This bill, which implements the provisions of a bilateral treaty between the United States and Russia on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population (“Polar Bear Agreement”), was introduced by...
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5th - |
NOAA Honors Stevens with 2006 Special Recognition Award
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today presented Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) with a lifetime achievement award at its first annual Marine Stewardship and Sustainability Awards ceremony. Stevens received the Special Recognition Award, which honors leadership in the sustainable management of living marine resources.
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