Bill would remove freight railroad industry’s antitrust exemptions

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would remove antitrust exemptions from the freight railroad industry. The bipartisan bill, called the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act, was introduced by Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and David Vitter, R-La. Because they are exempt from federal antitrust laws, freight railroads are able to charge anti-competitive and excessive rates to rail-dependent customers that are then passed along to consumers, the bill’s supporters say.