FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AAR President and CEO Calls On U.S. Surface Transportation Board To Halt All Major Rulemakings Until New Administration Installs Full Five-Member Board
NEW YORK – Nov. 17, 2016 – The head of the freight rail industry's main trade organization said today the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) should defer a handful of widely panned regulatory proposals, most notably forced access, until the U.S. Senate confirms a full slate of board members appointed by President-elect Donald J. Trump. Such a pause is in line with Trump's call for a temporary moratorium on all new regulation and a full review of both proposed and existing rules, as well as the process in which rules are made.
The call for a freeze is also consistent with the same principles that led Henry Waxman and John Rockefeller, then-leaders of the House and Senate Commerce Committees, respectively, to call upon the Federal Communications Commission in 2008 to halt any complex and controversial items until the Obama Administration took office.