WASHINGTON, April 8 — BLET National Vice President and Interim Director of Regulatory Affairs Stephen Bruno testified yesterday before the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials at a hearing titled, “Railroad and Hazardous Materials Transportation Programs: Reforms and Improvements to Reduce Regulatory Burdens.”
The focus of the hearing was on reducing regulatory “burdens” on the railroads in order to increase profitability, which apparently is a main goal in the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization.
In his testimony, Vice President Bruno outlined the BLET’s position on several issues that are expected to be in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization, and most pointedly, explained that the BLET believes that the best regulations are crafted with the input of stakeholders in the regulatory process and should not unilaterally be changed by Congress at the behest of the railroads.
“The BLET believes although Congress has a place in broadly defining areas of safety that must be addressed as a matter of public policy, regulation is best written in a fashion that allows for those with a stake in the rules to have a hand in their creation and amendment,” Bruno said.
He also drew the Subcommittee’s attention to positive train control and the hypocrisy of the railroads’ position on the technology.
“PTC is a safety overlay that will significantly reduce human factor related accidents and prevent loss of life,” Bruno said. “The railroads’ suggestion that they will implement other alternative safety practices and devices which will provide an equivalent level of safety is a disingenuous statement. These technologies have been available for decades and they are now only proposing to install them to avoid the PTC mandate. If the PTC mandate is removed, the railroads’ incentive to install these alternatives is likewise removed.”
He also cautioned against the privatization of Amtrak, saying that “Congress can best ensure the public good by maintaining Amtrak as our nation’s passenger rail service provider.”
In closing, Bruno urged the Subcommittee to consider taking up the BLET’s technical corrections to the hours of service portion of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
Other representatives from labor, including BMWED Director of Safety Richard Inclima, testified alongside of representatives from the railroads and hazardous materials shippers.
BLET National President Dennis Pierce thanked Vice President Bruno for representing the National Division and all BLET members at this important hearing. “More now than ever before, it is critical that rail labor’s voice is heard in the nation’s Capitol. BLET will continue to be there at every opportunity to insure that our memberships’ concerns and issues are properly represented before Congress and any other involved regulatory body,” President Pierce said.
A PDF of Vice President Bruno’s written testimony is available on the BLET website.