Dempsey, William H., president, Association of American Railroads; accompanied by B. F. Biaggini, chairman, Southern Pacific Co. Prepared statement of Mr. Dempsey... Prepared statement of Mr. Biaggini Questions of the committee and the answers of Mr. Dempsey Gallamore, Robert E., Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Page 300 303 313 322 325 Department of Transportation 250 Prepared statement 269 Questions of the committee and the answers thereto 274 Hagan, Bruce, commissioner, Public Service Commission, Bismarck, N. Dak 406 411 Questions of the committee and the answers thereto 415 O'Neal, Hon. A. Daniel, Chairman, Interstate Commerce Commission; accompanied by Alexander L. Morton, Director, Office of Policy and Analysis; and Janice M. Posenak, Deputy Director, Section of Rates, Office of Proceedings...... 283 Prepared statement. 290 Shannon, Preston, commissioner, Virginia State Corporation Commission; accompanied by Paul Rodgers; and Charles Gray, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners 416 Prepared statement 417 Questions of the committee and the answers thereto 421 Theis, W. C., chairman, legislative affairs, Board of Trade, Kansas City, Mo.; accompanied by Walter M. Vern III 382 Prepared statement Questions of the committee and the answers thereto 386 405 The subcommittee met at 1911 am Senate Office Building, Ho Howart committee) presiding. OPENING STATEMENT 3? 2 KIZI The CHAIRMAN. The hearing vill sme a vyra on his way, but we'll get cerway at the moment Ladies and gentlemen the imporana i wzAREA emphasized enough as this commiten te word, program of solutions that will acres bie railroad productivity and in 1820; industry to a vigorous and profitae sae I will not repeat the now web the rail industry. This commite ide na accustomed to hearing that the Nation are a wing was problems. The health of the rta de a va yong in recent years at the very sme the law w woda ya mi nomical transport it can grine The industry's rate if ur intent percent. This ersion of the now. Insaned se increased Federal capital investment ʼn ke sal nome agency regulations and enactment 1 dos enddien these are designed a alemate the salmon VA times result in policy thang nomer exigendie w irrelevant to the rains anmie allet.c Historically, the national trans to som & ikd deal more preoccupied with Ein e duelivey he cal transportation system va funcing a gunent vinn al policy objectives han vi em 19 1830 woel functioning as an anomic re reasons in the past why I believe that the utmate eas. hat we find tur search for new arches and ang he al industry's problems & where he exily B te why it should 10 anger 14 L Senator Long & low he OPENING FLETENEY" 12 GENTE SONG Senator Long reading, Tank MUL I have an opening statement. Today the Surface Transportation Subcommittee is conducting the first in a series of hearings on S. 796, the Railroad Deregulation Act of 1979. The purpose of this inquiry, however, goes well beyond the specific provisions of this bill. Rail freight transportation in this Nation has been in a steady decline for over 25 years, and many now take it for granted that the situation in the rail industry is continuing to go from bad to worse. While there is little doubt that an industry which cannot manage to achieve a 1 percent return on investment is facing financial crisis, I would caution against the tendency to oversimplify the railroad problem. All too often the problem is identified as excessive rail plant, poor rail management, antiquated labor work rules, or excessive economic regulation. This specification of causes typically leads to solutions or inappropriate policy responses which ignore other contributing factors, such as changing requirements and demands of shippers and the shifting composition of the economy. This first hearing, and the subsequent hearings we will have on the administration's deregulation proposal, will provide a convenient means for flushing out, developing, and shaping the issues as well as allowing all interested and potentially affected parties an opportunity to be heard. I would hope that as we try to understand the nature of the rail-problem, what has contributed to it, and what is an appropriate solution to the problem consistent with the development and maintenance of a truly efficient and competitive national transportation network, we will receive the benefit of the views of all those associated with and reasonably knowledgeable about the transportation industry, whether a producer or consumer of transportation, so that the many complex and important issues are not over simplified or overlooked in our refinement of legislation that will provide an appropriate resolution of the rail industry's grave concerns. [The bill follows:] |