(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Corrine Brown made the following statement:

“I grew up in Jacksonville near the railroad tracks.  And I have always been fond of the railroad, in fact, my brother works as a CSX Train Engineer.  I also remember that in those days, the rail industry was struggling terribly, and had difficulty moving out of the red.  Yet now, I am proud to see how they have moved beyond this and are now operating very successfully and are in the black.  

Currently, our nation’s freight railroads play a critical role in the economy by providing vital commuter and passenger rail service throughout the country.  In fact, the railroads employ over 180,000 people, and have spent $10 billion over the last eight years to expand tracks and purchase rolling stock.

Freight railroads are also responsible for transporting hazardous materials and carrying vital munitions and cargo for the U.S. military, and play a key role in efforts to improve the environment and deal with the anticipated future growth throughout our transportation system.

Unfortunately, hedge funds and other short time investors do not have the best interests of the rail industry in mind.  Their demand for cuts in capital expenditures and large rate increases will only lead to a slowdown in capacity growth, which will eventually damage the industry, as well as the economy over time.  

In addition, since hedge funds cannot literally pick up the railroads and move them to countries with cheaper minimum wage and labor standards, they are attempting to squeeze the railroads for quick returns at the expense of companies and their employees.  One such company, The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI), serves as a perfect example of how deceitful these companies can be.  TCI has even referred to as a “locust” by the German government and has met serious resistance from the Japanese government, where they are trying to force higher energy prices on Japanese citizens.

In the recent past, Congress has acted to prevent foreign companies from managing U.S. port operations and owning U.S. Airlines because they wanted to protect our countries’ infrastructure from harm.  The nation’s freight railroads are just as critical, and if damaged, could cripple the nation if placed in the hands of unknown foreign ownership or short sighted investors.

I strongly believe that unknown and unaccountable hedge funds owning or controlling freight railroads is something that should be closely scrutinized not only by the Transportation Committee, but by other Committees such as Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means, as well as the federal agencies that have jurisdiction over these types of financial transactions.”

Lastly, insofar as CSX donations to Edward Waters College, this is just one more example of CSX acting as a good corporate citizen.  CSX has supported EWC for years prior to this Hearing.  I wholeheartedly support all contributions going to Edward Waters College, an African American institution of higher learning located in the heart of my congressional district.  The company also gave a one million dollar donation to a domestic abuse shelter and numerous other community charities in need of assistance.”

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