Tom Harkin: “As the chairman knows, this bill includes funding for the National Mediation Board [NMB] which is responsible for…”

“As the chairman knows, this bill includes funding for the National Mediation Board [NMB] which is responsible for mediating labor-management disputes in the railroad and airline industries under the Railway Labor Act [RLA]. To help meet this responsibility section 3 of the RLA requires the arbitration of certain disputes that arise between employee and their employers in the rail industry. Unfortunately, there is a serious need to help the NMB fulfill its section 3 responsibilities. Delays in care processing cause uncertainty and hardship for both rail workers and the carriers. I want to thank the chairman for recognizing this problem and for including an additional $500,000 to the budget of the NMB. It is my understanding that it is the intent of the chairman and the committee that the NMB should use this extra money to deal with the section 3 cases. Is this also understanding of the chairman?”