The Senate committee approved the bill voice vote on Dec. 17. The bill is viewed as the most significant freight rail legislation since Congress enacted the Staggers Rail Act in 1980. The NGFA said the bill likely will undergo additional fine tuning before being considered in 2010 on the Senate floor, including potential language that could modify the railroads’ antitrust exemption that is being developed by Sen. Herb Kohl, and others. Meanwhile, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Rep. James Oberstar, is expected to develop its own version of rail reform legislation in 2010.

Kendell W. Keith NGFA president, said that while the Senate bill does not contain all the changes to U.S. rail policy advocated by the NGFA, it does provide some "meaningful corrections" to current law and "hopefully will set the stage for a more balanced regulatory environment." Keith also said there would be an opportunity to seek further enhancements to the bill once the legislative process shifts to the Senate floor and to the House.

The NGFA and other agricultural and agribusiness organizations wrote in a joint statement that they believed the measure will "better balance shipper needs for reasonable (freight) rates and service with railroad needs for adequate revenues, and provide for a fair, expeditious, accessible and cost-effective regulatory process. The railroads need adequate revenues to reinvest in capacity, but there also is a need to facilitate a more normal business-to-business relationship between shippers and carriers," the groups said. "The bill will assist in reaching that goal."