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Senators ask Feinberg ‘boss questions’ at hearing
I gather that there is disagreement on whether the railroads are still breaking the law if the stop operating passenger and TIH trains. Would this be decided by the court system? Also, is this hearing available on line somewhere?
The poker game may well be terminated by the non-partisan CBO’s (Congressional Budget Office) recent opinion that the deadline of 31 Dec. was unrealistic and therefore there was no way the RRs could meet it. The opinion should be enough to get Congress to pass the extension, thus ending the FRA’s posturing and the RR’s threatening.
Too many, especially in our Congress evidently, look at railroads as the Kings of the Robber Barons ala 1880’s to 1910. Railroads are not the same, nor is the economy nor the regulatory atmosphere. I don’t understand that these Congressmen made a law and now seem not to understand what the law says and means. They’ve dug a hole for themselves but are either denying it or are trying to blame the digging on others.
The archived webcast is now available on the committee’s website, http://www.commerce.senate.gov/ After loading that website, click on “hearings”, then click on “09/17/2015 Nomination Hearing”.
I thought the Senators asked excellent questions!
Most people have no idea what the FRA is, or PTC, or whom the head of the FRA is. If she does not get her act together soon and extend the deadline all taxpayers will know her very well. Her job will be gone in minutes if the railroads start shutting down as the whole economy will go the wrong way in minutes. I don’t even want to guess what type of crazy will go on in Chicago and other cities when you shut down metra, amtrak, and freight. It is one thing to blame the weather, but it is another when someone in the beltway with way too much smug and ego can’t cash what she is saying. Really shut the whole economy down, due to a guy on a cal commuter train vs freight headon due to texting? Would we do the same thing if it was a city bus vs a semi? Put in millions on our roads just too keep a semi in the correct lanes? It is most likely much cheaper to put in a cell phone jammer on all locomotives! No we can’t save face and do the public a good thing. Instead let us put in a taxpayer safety feature that may never work the right way! Our congress is so off the beat and path they are way beyond the shrubs and rocks!!!
The politicians have zero idea of what it takes to develop , create , install and run PTC. However when they decide to push the railroads and all commuter traffic is forced off the routes along with all explosive or inhalation materials are no longer shipped they will then find out what the railroads mean when they say “We need an extension or we will just avoid the need for it.”