Herb Kohl: “I rise to introduce the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2006. This legislation will eliminate obsolete antitrust…”

“I rise to introduce the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2006. This legislation will eliminate obsolete antitrust exemptions that protect freight railroads from competition. The unneeded exemptions stand in stark contrast to the historical basis for antitrust law and once again allow railroads to abuse their dominant market power and raise rates for those who rely on them. Antitrust law was born out of these same circumstances. Rail barons abused the power they had over shippers--especially farmers. Any American history student can describe the anti-consumer policies that led to the birth of the Sherman Act and later the Clayton Act--the building blocks of today's antitrust law. The historical ties between the railroads and the birth of antitrust law make the situation we face today remarkable. I have heard from a growing number of shippers in Wisconsin--and I know many of my colleagues have heard from their shippers in their States--about the monopolistic practices in which the freight railroads are currently engaged. Consolidation in the railroad industry, allowed under antitrust exemptions my legislation would repeal, has resulted in only four class I railroads providing over 90 percent of the Nation's rail transportation. Many industries--known as ``captive shippers''--are served by only one railroad. These captive shippers face constantly rising rail rates.…”