WEBSITE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
FOR AUGUST 2008
RAIL SAFETY LEGISLATION
The big news this month is the Senate’s passage of H.R.
2095, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2008, by unanimous consent on
August 1, just before adjourning for a month-long recess. The Senate bill basically
substituted the text of H.R. 2095 with the Lautenberg-Smith amendment, which is
similar to S. 1889. There are few differences between the amendment and S.
1889, but the funding levels were changed to accommodate the objections of
Senator Coburn. The bill will now go to a Conference Committee to resolve the
differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation.
When Congress returns after Labor Day, a joint House-Senate
conference committee will work out differences in the two bills and return a
final version for both chambers to approve. It is anticipated that President
Bush will sign the final measure given its bipartisan support.
This is the most significant rail safety bill in over two
decades and a huge victory for all of rail labor. Thanks to everyone who worked
on the bill as well as everyone who helped by making
phone calls and writing letters asking for its support.
S. 294, The
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act
S.294 was passed out
of the House on July 22 and sent to the Conference Committee, along with their
appointees. Due to an objection by Sen. Tom
Coburn (R-OK), majority leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) attempt to appoint
the Senate's conferees was stalled and remains blocked. Sen. Coburn and
the Republican leadership state that they will only vote on their proposals for
oil drilling. The minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has
vowed that the Republicans will block S. 294 and many other pending bills until
the Senate concedes to their demands. They are now on recess and home in
their Districts. If you have a Republican Senator, now is a good
time to give him or her a call to explain that, with current gas prices, and
congested highways adding to our dependence on foreign oil, any further delay
of S. 294 jeopardizes the oil conservation efforts that the expansion of
fuel-efficient passenger trains would represent. Amtrak ridership continues to increase every month. This
legislation promotes expanded passenger train service, including long
overdue funding for capitol and infrastructure needs. Request that the
Senate allow S.294 to move to a speedy conference and final
passage. Point out the irony in their delays and
the inherent oil savings realized in train travel. We are
all either railroad retirees, or headed in that direction, and our annuities depend
on a solvent railroad retirement system. Remind the Senator's
staff that Amtrak and its workers pay into that system. Explain
that the Railroad Retirement System covers retirement annuities for
railroad employees and we do not draw from Social Security. You'd
be surprised at the number of legislative staffers (even new House
Reps & and Senators) who are not aware of this
distinction. If they support the growth of jobs in the
S. 3360, The
Creating American Rolling Stock Act of 2008
S.
3360, also known as “The Train Cars Act,” was introduced on July
29 by Senators Durbin (D-IL), and Carper (D-DE), to increase the availability
of American made rail passenger cars. This bill aims to promote the
replacement and rehabilitation of Amtrak’s aging fleet of passenger cars and to
revive the train car industry in the
The FRA has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking
targeted at protecting roadway workers from train or equipment movements on an
adjacent track. The proposed rule would require railroads, contractors, and
roadway workers to adopt and comply with additional on-track safety procedures
covering a wider range of operational conditions. The rule would apply to work
groups using certain maintenance equipment and instances when at least one
worker is on the ground and the centerline of an adjacent track is 19 feet or
less from the centerline of track being worked on.
The FRA also proposes to expand requirements for job safety briefings,
training, and recordkeeping to ensure compliance with new procedures.
Under current rules, roadway workers engaged in a large-scale maintenance or
construction project must be provided with adjacent-track safety in the form of
a train approach warning.
Since May 2004, four rail workers have been killed on a track adjacent to one
undergoing maintenance.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced
a new Drug and Alcohol Testing Final Rule, published June 25, and scheduled to
become effective on August 25, will make it more difficult for transportation
workers to cheat on their required drug tests by requiring drug testing labs to
analyze every test for tampering.
Of particular concern is new Section 40.67(b) if that rule, which would
require that railroads -- among others -- "must direct a [urine]
collection under direct observation of an employee if the drug test is a
return-to-duty test or a follow-up test." The new direct observation
standard set forth at Section 40.67(i) requires railroads to "request the
employee to raise his or her shirt, blouse, or dress/skirt, as appropriate,
above the waist; and lower clothing and underpants to show, by turning around,
that they do not have a prosthetic device [that could be used to deliver a
substituted urine specimen]." After the railroad has "determined that
the employee does not have such a device, [it] may permit the employee to
return clothing to its proper position for observed urination."
It is the position of the BLET that the "return-to-duty" and
"follow-up" tests referenced in the Final Rule are limited to those
that are required subsequent to either a positive or an invalid drug test.
However, the Final Rule is less than clear in identifying that these are the
only tests to which the new requirements apply.
BLET National President Ed Rodzwicz stated: "The possibility that a BLET
member who has a clean drug testing record could potentially be exposed to an
outrageous violation of his or her privacy is intolerable. We have been in
consultation with other affected Labor Organizations, federal officials, and
other interested parties, and we intend to have this question clarified long
before the Final Rule takes effect. We also are reviewing the Final Rule in its
entirety and considering what other options may be available to us."
SEN. JOHN F. KERRY PROPOSES TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE $1 BILLION
FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL
An article from the July 15 edition of the Boston Herald
reported that Massachusetts Senator John Kerry criticized Amtrak’s Acela train,
which is supposed to provide high speed transport of passengers between
Sen. Kerry has stated that he will soon introduce legislation to provide $1 billion in funding that will target out-of-date
bridges, tunnels, and tracks and would give power to the states to improve the
rails, making it possible for decisions on eminent domain to be made at the
state or local level.
On July 10, the Senate Appropriations Committee on
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies, approved
Fiscal Year 2009 legislation, which includes significant funding above the
President's request for the Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad
Administration, and Amtrak.
The Committee approved $66.8 billion for the Department of Transportation, which
is $2.1 billion above the FY 2008 enacted level and $3.3 billion above the
President's request.
The Federal Railroad Administration has been appropriated $1.816 billion, or
$254 million over FY 2008, and $725 million over the President's request.
The Committee approved $1.55 billion for Amtrak, which is $225 million above FY
2008, and $750 million above the President's request.
The Committee also approved Capital Grants for Passenger Rail. The bill
provides $100 million for capital assistance to States to help initiate
state-supported passenger rail services and eliminate hindrances to improved or
expanded passenger rail service, including Amtrak.
House and
Senate Override President’s Veto of the Medicare Improvement for Patients and
Providers Act of 2008
HR 6331, the Medicare Improvement
for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 was introduced in the House on June
20. It passed in the House on June 24 and in the Senate on July 9. On July 15,
the President vetoed the bill; however, on that same day, the House and Senate
both voted to override the veto. If the scheduled cut in payments to physicians
had gone into effect, the existing shortage of doctors willing to accept new
Medicare patients would have been dramatically reduced.
Amongst
other provisions, this legislation temporarily blocks a scheduled 10.6% cut in
payments to physicians from Medicare. The bill instead imposes a freeze on pay
cuts for the remainder of 2008 and grants a 1.1% pay hike to physicians for
2009. It also focuses on providing coverage for preventative care,
mental health care, and those who live in rural areas of the country.