On Wednesday, March 6th, the Senate Budget Committee passed the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act out of committee.
The bill, which passed the committee with unanimous bipartisan support, would remove railroad retirement benefits from budget sequestration. In the Budget Control Act of 2011, a 5.7% cut was mandated for railroad retirement unemployment and sickness benefits through fiscal year 2030. Railroaders are the only people to have their unemployment and sickness benefits subject to sequestration, even though railroad retirement benefits are fully funded and paid for by railroaders and railroads.
“I appreciate the Senate Budget Committee for unanimously supporting railroaders today and thank Chair Whitehouse for bringing up this important piece of legislation for railroad workers,” said NP Maratea. He continued, “railroaders play a critical role in keeping our country’s supply chain moving and the traveling public safe and deserve better than to be subject to cuts of a program that they have fully paid into. Especially in the midst of mass layoffs and furloughs at several class I railroads, every bit of these benefits that railroaders have rightfully earned is vital for feeding their families and keeping them afloat.”