Shipping our goods back and forth across the country has become a giant pain, and you know where that pain is located. The Mississippi River is unusually dry, diesel prices are creeping higher once again, and railroads are moving empty cars. In the grand scheme of things, the latter seems like the most avoidable situation. That?s what the Freight Rail Shipping Fair Market Act is hoping to address.
Iowa Third District Congresswoman Cindy Axne is backing the bill and talks with us about what the bill can accomplish. She addresses the pains that the shipping industry has been causing since the pandemic. She says it is disappointing that Congress has to make laws to get shippers to ship goods.
She talks about the provisions of the Act that will give greater protections and a voice to the customers who are needing goods shipped and will hold the railroads accountable to basic rail services.
Axne adds that profits to shareholders should not be coming at the expense of the American economy and businesses. Moving empty grain cars makes no sense when you have grain waiting to ship to the gulf on reduced barge traffic or to the pacific Northwest.
