(The Associated Press circulated the following on February 27, 2009.)
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway Co., the nation’s second-largest freight railroad, spent nearly $1.5 million in the fourth quarter to lobby on antitrust protection and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad, a unit of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., lobbied against legislation that would have removed antitrust exemptions for railroads. Backers of the legislation said railroads no longer need broad exemptions from antitrust laws since they were largely deregulated in 1980.
The measures made some progress in Congress last fall but fell short of passage.
BNSF also lobbied against a measure to give rail-shipping customers, such as farmers and manufacturers, more power to challenge rate disputes with railroads. Those bills never got out of committee.
The company also lobbied on taxes, railroad expansion, economic stimulus and climate change, according to the report filed Jan. 21 with House clerk’s office.
Besides Congress, BNSF lobbied the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Homeland Security and Transportation, the Surface Transportation Board and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the October-December period.