Green Railcar Enhancement Act of 2010

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H. Res. 1366, recognizing and honoring the United States freight rail industry. Before I do, I must note, once again, as other of my colleagues have, that every single transportation bill on today's suspension calendar is a Democratic bill. The majority has not been living up to the common practice of a 70/30 split on those suspension calendars. Currently, it's running at about 95-5 percent, although I am pleased to say that they've added three Republican suspension bills to the calendar later this week. So I hope the majority will continue to try to honor that common practice we've had in the House for a number of years.

We are honoring the freight rails today because our freight rail network is the undisputed envy of the world. Every year freight trains move 40 tons of material for every man, woman and child in this country. Railroads provide a remarkable public benefit, reducing traffic on the highways, lowering pollution, and providing a less expensive mode of transit for freight. And this public benefit is provided at no expense to taxpayers.

Perhaps the greatest thing about the railroad industry is that it utilizes private money rather than public funds to build and maintain its infrastructure. Investors risk billions of capital annually to support the Nation's railroads because these private companies

produce a reliable, although modest return to investors. We must not jeopardize this critical industry by over-regulating or re-regulating and creating an environment where railroads cannot access the capital to maintain and expand their operations.

Without this access to investment capital, the industry will decline, as it has in the past. And we don't want to be here 10 or 15 years from now discussing taxpayer subsidies for the freight rail industry.

Over the course of the 20th century, Congress enacted policies that nearly ruined the railroads in the name of reducing shipping rates. These policies discouraged investors, and led to decay in the railroad industry. ``Standing derailments'' became common in this dark era, a term that was used for an idle freight car that simply collapses on its side because of rotten tracks. Over one-fifth of the Nation's railroads were owned by bankrupt firms by the end of the 1970s.

But the Staggers Reform Act in 1980 created an environment that has led to the revitalized freight network we all benefit from today. Railroads are prosperous again, productivity has soared, and rail continues to gain market share thanks to improvements in service and competitive pricing. This reconnaissance culminated earlier this year when Warren Buffett made his $34 billion investment in the BNSF railroad.

Despite the fact that shipping rates are much lower today than they were in the 1980s, and freight rates in the U.S. are half of what they are in Europe and Japan, the same forces are at play that nearly destroyed the railroads in the 20th century. Already the urge to regulate has led to a policy that will force the railroads to spend more than $12 billion on positive train control, a price tag that continues to grow at an alarming rate. Positive train control has a cost-benefit ratio of 20 to 1, and will prevent less than 3 percent of rail accidents. It is my belief that railroads themselves are the best judge of where to invest capital dollars for safety improvements, not Congress.

We should work together with the railroads to identify areas of safety improvement that can be accomplished at a reasonable cost. And I believe we should reexamine the scope of the positive train control mandate.

I note that this is the first time that Congress has considered a resolution recognizing and honoring the freight railroads alone. I think it's very appropriate, because the National Train Day resolution we passed earlier this year was changed from previous years' versions to focus solely on Amtrak and passenger rail. Amtrak operates primarily on private freight tracks. Without the continued economic vitality of the freight railroads and their constant investment in maintaining 140,000 miles of track in the U.S., Amtrak would not have a national passenger rail system.

In closing, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1366, and believe that Congress should honor the freight rail industry by working to create an environment that will allow it to have continued success.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I would say thank you. I did make note we are getting three more bills, and we appreciate the effort.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1366, as amended, which honors the freight railroad industry and its employees and the important contributions they have made to our nation and the national transportation system.

Freight railroads have played an essential role in the growth of our country since 1825, when Colonel John Stevens, considered the father of railroads, demonstrated the feasibility of steam locomotion on a circular experimental track constructed on his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey. By 1830, railroads were still in their infancy and there was less than 40 miles of track in operation.

However, Peter Cooper's Tom Thumb locomotive would change the face of railroad locomotion forever on August 28, 1830, when his American-built locomotive was challenged by horse-drawn equipment in a head-to-head race. The Tom Thumb easily pulled away from the horse until a belt on the locomotive slipped and failed. Though Peter Cooper and his locomotive lost the race, it was apparent that the locomotive offered superior performance. Steam locomotives would reign over American railroads for the next 100 years.

From these very humble beginnings, railroads brought economic and social changes never dreamed of by early Americans. Just 10 years later, in 1840, railroad mileage increased to slightly over 2,800 miles, tripling to over 9,000 miles by 1850. In 1860, mileage tripled again to more than 30,000 miles and brought prosperity to all the communities that railroads touched. Railroads moved manufactured goods, farm implements, and building materials to the west, while bringing meat, produce and other crops to the east. Steam locomotives raced along averaging 25 miles per hour, reducing trips that used to take days to hours. For example, a trip from Cincinnati, Ohio, to St. Louis, Missouri, was reduced from three days to just 16 hours.

On July 1, 1862, the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, as enacted by Congress, was approved and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. This led to the creation of the first transcontinental railroad, when the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad linked at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, connecting over 1700 miles of western railroads to the eastern railroads at the Missouri River. This established the first mechanized transcontinental transportation network that revolutionized the population and economy of the American west.

While the railroads moved goods across the country and helped build cities and towns across the west, the railroad was also the hi-tech industry of its day, responsible for innovations such as ``standard time'' and pioneering the use of the telegraph as a nationwide dispatching communication system.

The railroad industry was also a leader in bringing about worker protections. The Railway Labor Act of 1926 established basic principles of fair bargaining and mediation. Our Nation's social security system, enacted in 1935, was based partly on provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1934. Today, more than 183,000 hardworking, dedicated Americans help keep our country and its trains moving around the clock.

Our freight rail industry is composed of an efficient and well- maintained network, moving 2.2 billion tons of freight over 140,000 miles of railroad annually. Freight rail is also one of the most energy-efficient modes of transportation, moving one ton of freight 480 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel. One train can take 280 trucks off the road--the equivalent of 1,100 automobiles.

Freight and intercity passenger rail are important components of our nation's economic strength and mobility. Freight railroads account for 43 percent of intercity freight volume--more than any other mode of transportation.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1366.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Member Mica, my friend Chairman Costello, and the staff of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for their strong support of this important resolution.

House Resolution 1366 formally recognizes the contributions and accomplishment of the freight rail industry and its employees throughout our great Nation. Like many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, freight rail is incredibly important to my district and my home State of Illinois.

I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the hard work freight rail employees put forth each and every day. In cities like Galesburg, Rock Island, and Decatur, I am constantly reminded of the positive impact that this industry has had on the economies of the localities and the improvements of our Nation's transportation infrastructure.

Throughout its rich American history, freight rail has proven time and again to be among the most efficient, environmentally friendly ways of transporting our Nation's goods. Freight rail generates hundreds of billions of dollars in annual economic activity, and supports over 1.2 million jobs throughout the United States. As our economy continues to recover, the freight rail industry will be an essential component in fulfilling the great demand to move goods again and put more Americans back to work.

I am proud to say that I have received letters of support for this resolution from both the business and the labor sector, including the Association of American Railroads, Growth Options for the 21st Century, and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO.

I have no doubt that the industry will continue to contribute in indispensable ways to the health and growth of the United States economy and our infrastructure, and will continue to reduce its impact on the environment.

Again, I thank the chairman and my colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for supporting this resolution. I believe that Congress is long overdue in formally recognizing the industry and the vital role it continues to play in our country's growth, job creation, and economic recovery. I urge my friends on both sides of the aisle to support this noncontroversial resolution.

Association of

American Railroads,

May 19, 2010.

Hon. Phil Hare,

Cannon House Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congressman Hare: I am writing in support of your

resolution recognizing and honoring America's freight rail

industry.

H. Res. 1366 correctly notes that our nation's freight

railroads operate the safest, cleanest, most efficient and

most environmentally sound rail system in the world. We've

worked hard to earn these credentials and look to set the

standards even higher moving forward.

Freight rail is a highly efficient industry that is

essential to the U.S. economy and economic recovery. Not only

does our industry employ nearly 190,000 well-paid workers,

the overwhelming majority which are union employees, but

freight rail also supports millions of jobs for workers in

American businesses that rely on our industry to ship their

goods.

We are committed to continuing to provide the affordable,

efficient transportation our customers depend on. And we will

do so in the most environmentally sensitive and energy

efficient manner possible. As you so eloquently stated,

freight railroads meet our nation's transportation needs

today and will have an even more positive impact in the

future. We like to say that our nation's recovery is running

on our steel spine.

Thank you again for taking the time to recognize our

industry and the important benefits we deliver for America.

Sincerely,

Edward R. Hamberger,

President and

Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1366) recognizing and honoring the freight rail industry, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 1366.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1366, as amended, introduced by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hare), which honors the freight railroad industry and its employees and the important contributions they have made to our Nation and the national transportation system.

Freight railroads have a long important history in the United States. Beginning in the early 1800s, during the Industrial Revolution, freight railroads played a critical role in the expansion and economic development of the Nation. Since May 24, 1830, when the Baltimore Ohio Railroad, now part of the CSX, the Nation's first common-carrier railroad, opened for business from Baltimore West to Ellicott City, freight rail has helped bring American goods to markets domestically and internationally. On May 10, 1869, the industry literally transformed America when the golden spike was driven into the final tie that joined 1,776 miles of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways, creating the Nation's first transcontinental railroad.

Today the freight rail industry employs more than 183,000 hardworking, dedicated Americans who help keep our country and its trains moving 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our freight rail industry boasts a vast network across the country. There are more than 560 freight rail companies in the United States that operate 140,000 miles of track and carry more than 2.2 billion tons of freight annually.

Freight rail is also one of the most energy-efficient modes of transportation. It is able to move one ton of freight 480 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel, and helps reduce congestion. One train can take 280 trucks off the road, the equivalent of 1,100 automobiles.

Freight and intercity passenger rails are also important components of our Nation's economic strength and mobility. Freight railroads account for 43 percent of intercity freight volume, more than any other mode of transportation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1366.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to respond to my friend, Mr. Shuster.

Mr. Speaker, let me say for the record Mr. Shuster made a point that we have Democratic bills from the committee before the House today and no Republican bills. The gentleman may or may not know that this Thursday Chairman Oberstar has agreed to markup five Republican bills in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

For the record, I would point out that in the 110th and 111th Congress both, the committee passed well over 40, in fact I think 42 bills out of the committee, and moved them through the House. So I would just for the record say that to my friend from Pennsylvania.

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hare), my friend and the sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support the resolution. I have no further requests for

time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to support House Resolution 1366, Recognizing and Honoring the Freight Rail Industry. Freight rail is an important part of our transportation system because of the unique role that it plays as both an economical and environmentally-friendly freight mode. Freight rail moves goods from place to place efficiently, reliably, and without increasing congestion on our highways. It is an efficient mode of transport, averaging 457 freight ton miles per gallon of gasoline. If 10 percent of goods currently shipped by truck were instead shipped by freight rail, we would decrease our annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12 million tons. Furthermore, freight rail creates local, green jobs. Estimates suggest that each $1 billion invested in freight rail creates 20,000 jobs. Freight rail plays an important role in making our communities safer, healthier, and more economically secure.

I appreciate the opportunity today to honor the men and women who make up our freight industry. I encourage my colleagues to consider freight rail as we look for ways to make our transportation system more efficient, more environmentally-friendly, and more effective. Many of my colleagues have cosponsored H.R. 5478, the Green Railcar Enhancement Act, legislation I introduced offering a tax credit for replacing or rebuilding old, inefficient railcars. I appreciate their support and I look forward to continuing to promote freight rail as a critical part of a 21st century transportation system.