{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141017002113/http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/in-the-news/baldwin-franken-urge-action-to-force-rail-competition", "Baldwin, Franken Urge Action to Force Rail Competition", "2014-10-14", "2014", "2014-10", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Tammy Baldwin", "B001230", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Baldwin, Franken Urge Action to Force Rail Competition\t\n\t\t\t\t\n                \n            \n            \n            \n                \n                    By:\u00a0\n                    Chris Hubbuch\n                \n            \n            \n                \n                \n                \n            Tuesday, October 14, 2014\n            \n\t\n            \n            In the wake of shipping backlogs that have stranded grain in northern Minnesota and choked coal supplies at Midwestern power plants, U.S. senators from Minnesota and Wisconsin are calling on federal regulators to foster more competition among railroads.\nSens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Al Franken, D-Minn., joined this week with David Vitter, a Republican from Louisiana, in urging the Surface Transportation Board to initiate a rule-making process on a practice known as \u201ccompetitive switching,\u201d which they said would give shippers more options and better service.\nProjected record grain and soybean harvests have set the stage for unprecedented disruptions this fall, the senators wrote, which could mean farmers would lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, utilities are entering the winter without adequate coal stores.\n\u201cBusinesses and consumers throughout our economy\u2019s supply chain stand to be negatively affected by these disruptions,\u201d the senators wrote. \u201cOur states\u2019 shippers desperately need this injection of competition into the market to increase the quality of their rail service.\u201d\nWhile current law is supposed to allow for competitive switching, Baldwin and Franken say no shippers have been able to take advantage of it, suggesting the current rules need tweaking.\nHere\u2019s how it would work: If a shipper is served by only one railroad, as is the case in many parts of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and there is another class 1 railroad with a junction within a \u201creasonable distance,\u201d the STB could order a rail carrier to switch a customer\u2019s freight to a competitor\u2019s line.\nThis would force competition, said Bruce Carlton, president of the National Industrial Transportation League, a trade group representing freight shippers.\n\u201cCaptive rail shippers are paying a very big premium \u2026 because of the lack of competition,\u201d Carlton said. \u201cThe railroads \u2014 god love them, and we do, because they move a lot of stuff quickly and safely \u2014 say we price to the market. What they don\u2019t say is that the market is frequently a monopoly or a duopoly.\u201d\nThe Association of American Railroads opposes the rule change, saying it would increase costs and reduce efficiency, which in turn would lead to postponed maintenance and upgrades.\n\u201cThis proposal is a solution looking for a problem,\u201d President Edward R. Hamberger said in a news release. \u201cRailroads already voluntarily switch traffic when it makes economic sense for all parties.\u201d\nThe question is whether it would benefit Midwestern utilities like Xcel Energy and La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative, which have struggled this year to get adequate shipments of coal from Wyoming.\nDairyland spokeswoman Katie Thomson said that while shipments to its Genoa plant have improved, the coal pile remains below its target level, and shipments to its Alma plant are inadequate to meet a sustained high demand.\nAs a result, Thomson said, Dairyland is considering scheduled shutdowns to ensure it has enough coal for the winter.\nWhile Dairyland has not been involved in the competitive switching issue, \u201cwe do support in general actions which could result in decreased rail shipment delays,\u201d she said.\nXcel earlier this year said the shipping backlog threatened to shutter its 2,500-megawatt Sherco plant, which produces about a quarter of the electricity Xcel delivers in the upper Midwest.\nSpokesman Brian Elwood said the utility is working with carrier BNSF to improve delivery to Sherco, but supports efforts to raise awareness of this issue.\nThe proposal isn\u2019t going to help anyone this season, as the rule-making process could take up to five years, according to Carlson.\n\u201cIt won\u2019t improve everybody\u2019s situation,\u201d he said, but it has the potential to help. \u201cWe see it as potentially beneficial at both ends of the transaction. And the railroads get paid. We don\u2019t see it as a loss.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141017002113/http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/in-the-news/baldwin-franken-urge-action-to-force-rail-competition"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.612854190170765, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}