STUDY OF ALASKA TRANSPORTATION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1961 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., the Honorable E. L. Bartlett presiding. Senator BARTLETT. The committee will be in order. This is one of a series of hearings being conducted by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, the first meeting having been held in San Rafael, Calif., on October 4, the second in Seattle on October 12, and the subsequent hearings in Alaska; namely, to date, at Petersburg and at Dillingham, Naknek, Homer, and Kodiak. To date the hearings have been devoted almost exclusively to the fishery. Very little specific legislation has been considered except a bill introduced by Senater Gruening, S. 1230, with a companion bill offered in the House of Representatives by our own Congressman Ralph J. Rivers amending the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act so as to provide additional funds for fishery research. It has been the main intention of the committee to build an up-todate factual background for future legislative efforts as needed concerning the very important fishery. I think it can be said now that this is being accomplished because we have had good hearings wherever we have gone and have accumulated not only much testimony but valuable testimony. I would suspect that here in Fairbanks not too much will be said about the fishery, and that instead the witnesses will be concerned chiefly with transportation. Even so, if there is anyone here who desires to speak about the fishery, or about game, which likewise comes under the jurisdiction, we shall be glad to hear him. As acting chairman of the committee during its meetings in Alaska I want to express my very real appreciation to the chamber of commerce for making this wonderful room available for today's hearing. It makes for comfort and pleasure to convene in such a remarkably fine room. I should like for the benefit of those who are here from Fairbanks to introduce the staff members of the Commerce Committee who are accompanying me. (Discussion off the record.) Senator BARTLETT. We have also with us today Mr. Hugh H. Chaffee, district supervisor ICC, Anchorage, and Mr. William Meehan, director, Division of Motor Transportation, State of Alaska, Anchorage. 1 There are bills before the Commerce Committee to establish a joint board in respect to through service and joint rates for carriers serving Alaska and Hawaii. This is S. 1725. A like bill was passed by the Senate in the 86th Congress but failed of consideration in the House of Representatives. S. 1725 in this Congress was passed by the Senate and encountered a similar fate in the House. There is also a bill before the committee, S. 1839, which would put joint routes and through rates under the ICC. Then there is S. 2413, providing for economic regulation of the Alaska Railroad by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Without objection, the bills will be made a part of the record at this point. (The bills are as follows:) [S. 1725, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To permit the establishment of through service and joint rates for carriers serving Alaska or Hawaii and the other States and to establish a joint board to review such rates Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, THROUGH SERVICE AND JOINT RATES SECTION 1. Air carriers subject to the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, common barriers subject to parts I. II, and III of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, and common carriers by water subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, or the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, as amended (including persons who hold themselves out to transport goods by water but who do not own or operate vessels), may establish through service and joint rates and charges with any other such common carriers in connection with the transportation of property between the State of Alaska or the State of Hawaii and the other States; except that air carriers not directly engaged in the operation of aircraft in air transportation (other than companies engaged in the air express business) may not establish joint rates or charges, under the provisions of this section, with common carriers subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, and the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, or the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, as amended: Provided, however, That the authority to establish through service and joint rates shall not be applicable to interstate operations within the State of Hawaii by motor common carriers of property. JOINT RATES TO BE JUST, REASONABLE, AND NONDISCRIMINATORY SEC. 2. Joint rates and charges established pursuant to this Act and classifications, rules, regulations, and practices affecting such joint rates or charges shall be just and reasonable, and free of unjust discriminations as to shippers and consignees. It shall be the duty of the carriers party thereto to establish just, reasonable, and equitable divisions thereof between the carriers participating therein, which shall not unduly prefer or prejudice any of such participating carriers. FILING OF TARIFFS SEC. 3. Where through service and joint rates are established, it shall be the duty of each of the carriers party thereto to file tariffs naming such joint rates with the agency having regulatory jurisdiction over the portion of the through services to be performed by such carrier, in accordance with the tariff rules and regulations of such agency. Such tariffs shall state that they are filed pursuant to this Act. COMPLIANCE WITH TARIFFS SEC. 4. No carrier party to a tariff filed in accordance with section 3 shall charge or demand or collect or receive a greater or lesser or different compensation for transportation between points served by it and points served by any other such carrier or for any service in connection therewith, than the rates and charges so filed; and no such carrier shall, in any manner or by any device, directly or indirectly, or through any agent or broker or others, refund or remit any portion of the rates or charges so specified, or extend to any person any privileges or facilities other than those described in such tariffs. The willful failure of any such carrier to observe tariffs filed in accordance with this section shall be a misdemeanor punishable in accordance with the provisions of title 49, United States Code, section 41 (1). REFERENCE TO JOINT BOARD SEC. 5. All matters relating to the lawfulness of through service and joint rates established pursuant to this Act, and divisions thereof, and classifications, regulations, and practices relating thereto, shall be determined by a joint board to be created as provided in section 6. Such matters may be referred to the Joint Board by the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Maritime Board, or the Civil Aeronautics Board each upon its own initiative, and shall be referred to the Joint Board by any of such agencies upon the filing with any such agency of a complaint pursuant to this section. Complaints may be filed by any shipper, consignee, or carrier affected thereby, charging that any joint rate or charge established pursuant to this Act, or any classification, regulation, or practice relating thereto, is, or will be, in violation of section 2 of this Act. Any carrier participating in a joint rate established pursuant to this Act may file a complaint charging that the divisions of such joint rate are in violation of section 2 of this Act. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT BOARD SEC. 6. There is hereby established a joint board to consider and pass upon matters to be referred to the Joint Board as provided in section 5 of this Act. The Joint Board shall consist of three members, one each to be designated from among the membership of the Civil Aeronautics Board, the Federal Maritime Board, and the Interstate Commerce Commission, by the Chairman of each such agency. The Joint Board so designated shall elect a chairman from the membership of the Board. The members of the Joint Board shall serve for a term of one year, but shall be eligible for reappointment. In case of a vacancy, a member to fill the vacancy shall be designated by the appropriate agency chairman to serve the remainder of the term; in case of temporary absence of a member, an alternate member shall be designated in the same manner, to serve for the duration of the absence. The affirmative votes of any two members of the Joint Board shall be sufficient for the disposition of any matter which may come before it. The Joint Board is authorized to use, as needed and with consent of the respective agencies, the available space, services, supplies, equipment, personnel, and facilities of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Maritime Board, and the Civil Aeronautics Board in carrying out its functions under this Act, such use to be subject to the supervision of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. The Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Maritime Board, and the Civil Aeronautics Board shall, as need arises, assign hearing examiners from their respective staffs, to the work of the Joint Board. JURISDICTION OF BOARD SEC. 7. The Joint Board, in passing upon matters referred to it under section 5, shall have the same powers which section 216 of the Interstate Commerce Act, title 49, United States Code, section 316, confers upon the Interstate Commerce Commission in respect of common carriers of property by motor vehicle. In the exercise of its power to prescribe just and reasonable joint rates and charges filed pursuant to this Act, and classifications, regulations, and practices relating thereto, the Joint Board shall observe the standards set forth in section 216(i) of the Interstate Commerce Act, title 49, United States Code, section 316(i): Provided, however, That the Joint Board shall not have jurisdiction over local rates and nothing herein shall be construed as removing from the Civil Aeronautics Board, the Federal Maritime Board, and the Interstate Commerce Commission jurisdiction to regulate local rates of carriers establishing joint rates between the State of Alaska or the State of Hawaii, and the other States. HEARINGS SEC. 8. All matters referred to the Joint Board shall be determined on the record after opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, title 5, United States Code, section 1001 and the following. Any member of the Joint Board and any hearing examiner assigned to the Board, when duly designated by the Board for such purpose, may hold hearings, sign and issue subpenas, administer oaths, examine witnesses, and receive evidence at any place in the United States. PROCEDURAL POWERS OF THE BOARD SEC. 9. The Joint Board shall have the power to issue such rules, regulations, or orders as may be required for the orderly processing of matters assigned to it. The Board shall have the power to require by subpena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of all books, papers, and documents and to take testimony by deposition relating to any matter within its jurisdiction. The attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and documents may be required at any designated place of hearing. REVIEW OF BOARD ORDERS SEC. 10. Orders of the Joint Board shall take effect within a reasonable time, not less than thirty days, and shall continue in force until its further order, or for a specified period of time, as shall be prescribed in the order, unless the same shall be suspended or modified or set aside by the Joint Board or be suspended or set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction. Such orders shall be reviewable as provided in title 5, United States Code, sections 1031-1041, inclusive. EFFECTIVE DATE SEC. 11. The members of the Joint Board shall be designated within one hundred and twenty days after the date of enactment of this Act, and this Act shall take effect one hundred and twenty days after the date of enactment. [S. 1839, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend section 216 (c) and 305 (b) of the Interstate Commerce Act, relating to the establishment of through routes and joint rates Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection (c) of section 216 of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended (49 U.S.C. 316(c)), is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence: "As used in this subsection, the term 'common carriers by *** water' includes water common carriers subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, or the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, as amended (including persons who hold themselves out to transport goods by water but who do not own or operate vessels) engaged in the transportation of property in interstate or foreign commerce between Alaska or Hawaii on the one hand, and, on the other, the other States of the Union, and through routes and joint rates so established and all classifications, regulations, and practices in connection therewith shall be subject to the provisions of this part." SEC. 2 Subsection (b) of section 305 of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended (49 U.S.C. 905 (b)), is amended by inserting between the second and third sentences thereof the following new sentence: "Common carriers by water subject to this part may also establish reasonable through routes and joint rates, charges, and classifications with common carriers by water subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, or the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, as amended (including persons who hold themselves out to transport goods but who do not own or operate vessels) engaged in the transportation of property in interstate or foreign commerce between Alaska or Hawaii on the one hand, and, on the other, the other States of the Union, and such through routes and joint rates, and all classifications, regulations, and practices established in connection therewith shall be subject to the provisions of this part." [S. 1978, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend section 202 (c) of the Interstate Commerce Act to provide for partial exemption from the provisions of part II of such Act of terminal area motor carrier operations performed by or for common carriers by water in interstate commerce subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 202 (c) of part II of the Interstate Commerce Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or of section 203, the provisions of this part, except the provisions of section 204 relative to qualifications and maximum hours of service of employees and safety of operation and equipment, shall not apply "(1) to transportation by motor vehicle by a carrier by railroad subject to part I, or by a water carrier subject to part III, or by a freight forwarder subject to part IV, or by a common carrier by water in interstate commerce subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, incidental to transportation or service subject to such parts or such acts, in the performance within terminal areas of transfer, collection, or delivery services; but such transportation shall be considered to be and shall be regulated as transportation subject to part I when performed by such carrier by railroad, as transportation subject to part III when performed by such water carrier, as transportation or service subject to part IV when performed by such freight forwarder, and as transportation or service subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, when performed by such common carrier by water in interstate commerce; "(2) to transportation by motor vehicle by any person (whether as agent or under a contractual arrangement) for a common carrier by railroad subject to part I, an express company subject to part I, a motor carrier subject to this part, a water carrier subject to part III, a freight forwarder subject to part IV, or a common carrier in interstate commerce subject to the Shipping Act, 1916, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, in the performance within terminal areas of transfer, collection, or delivery service; but such transportation shall be considered to be performed by such carrier, express company, or freight forwarder as part of, and shall be regulated in the same manner as, the transportation by railroad, express, motor vehicle, or water, or the freight forwarder transportation or service, to which such services are incidental. "The Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine and prescribe the limits of terminal areas of the various carriers for the purposes of this section 202 (2).” [S. 2413, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide for economic regulation of the Alaska Railroad under the Interstate Commerce Act, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first paragraph of the first section of the Act entitled "An Act to authorize the President of the United States to locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes", approved March 12, 1914 (38 Stat. 305), as amended (48 U.S.C. 301), is amended to read as follows: "That the President of the United States is hereby empowered, authorized, and directed to adopt and use a name by which to designate the railroad or railroads and properties to be located, owned, acquired, or operated under the authority of this Act; to employ such officers, agents, or agencies, in his discretion, as may be necessary to enable him to carry out the purposes of this Act; to authorize and require such officers, agents, or agencies to perform any or all of the duties imposed upon him by the terms of this Act; to detail and require any officer or officers in the Engineer Corps in the Army or Navy to perform service under this Act; to fix the compensation of all officers, agents, or employees appointed or designated by him; to designate and cause to be located a route or routes for a line or lines of railroad in the State of Alaska not to exceed in the aggregate one thousand miles, to be so located as to connect one or more of the open Pacific Ocean harbors on the southern coast of Alaska with the navigable waters in the interior of Alaska, and with a coal field or |