Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act
The Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007, which would repeal the legislative antitrust exemption relating to freight railroad was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. According to the Mainitowoc Herald Times Reporter:
The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., to repeal the obsolete antitrust exemptions protecting freight railroads from competition.These exemptions deny rail consumers antitrust protections available to consumers in virtually every other industry, Kohl said.
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Kohl authored the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007 in response to concerns that freight railroads are abusing their dominant market power and raising rates for those who rely on them to ship dozens of vital commodities, including coal and agricultural products.
“Freight railroads have the luxury of being protected from the competition other industries face,” Kohl said. “They can name their price and the consumer pays. We have seen the result of this outdated policy in Wisconsin, where our utilities were forced to absorb staggering cost increases for shipping coal. This bill will bring scrutiny to freight railroads and encourage competition in this highly consolidated industry.”
I suspect that this is legislation would have Antitrust Modernization Commission approval.
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September 21st, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I think Manfred and I need to IM more, if only to avoid duplicate posts.