to discriminate against other carriers who desire to ship vehicles or containers, hence no change in those laws is required.

4. Through service, joint rates, and joint boards. In section 4 Congress would declare it to be a matter of public policy that through routes and joint rates should be encouraged and promoted by use of joint boards to act on proposals for intercarrier services. New joint boards, comprised of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Civil Aeronautics Board, and the Federal Maritime Commission, would supersede the joint boards of the ICC and CAB, which are presently authorized in the Federal Aviation Act.

In the case of through service, the duty is placed on the carriers to establish just and reasonable rates and equitable divisions thereof between the participating carriers. Complaint as to these matters may be referred to the joint board, which is empowered to fix the rates, after notice and hearing, if it finds that the rates fixed by the carriers are or will be unjust or unreasonable, or unjustly discriminatory or unduly preferential or unduly prejudicial.

5. Enforcement, highway transportation.-Section 5 would authorize the Interstate Commerce Commission to make agreements with States to cooperate in the enforcement of the economic or safety laws and regulations of the various States or of the Federal Government with respect to highway transportation. This law would be consistent with collateral efforts to develop and adopt uniform State registration laws for motor carriers operating within States but handling interstate commerce. The purpose of both of these efforts is to help eliminate unlawful (gray area) trucking operations which abound because of diverse, ambiguous laws and practical limitations in enforcement.

6. Civil penalties for operating without authority; increase in penalties.— Section 6 extends the civil forfeiture provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act, as increased hereunder, to any person who operates a motor vehicle in interstate or foreign commerce without the operating authority required under the act. The civil penalty applies upon failure or refusal to comply with applicable provisions requiring operating authority. Previously, such persons were subject only to the criminal penalty provisions of section 222 of the act if they knowingly and willfully violated the applicable provisions. The purpose of the amendment is to make the increased civil penalties a significant deterrent to unlawful motor carrier operations and to assist in policing unscrupulous operators who have persisted in such unlawful operations in the knowledge that the more demanding requirements for proof under the criminal sanctions, as compared to civil penalties, make enforcement considerably more difficult.

7. Civil liability for violations of Federal Aviation Act by air carriers.— Section 7, which would make air carriers subject to payment of reparations to shippers charged unlawfully high rates, is consistent with H.R. 5596 and S. 1283 presently before the Congress which propose that motor carriers and freight forwarders be subject to the same liability. Similar authority already exists with respect to railroads and water carriers. The existing and proposed legislation would make all common carriers liable to any person for the full amount of damages (together with reasonable counsel's fees) sustained as a consequence of such carriers' charging an unlawfully high rate. Such injured person may sue, alternatively, in an appropriate district court of the United States, or he may bring an action before the regulatory agency having cognizance of the carrier in violation. Under the latter procedure, after hearing, the agency is empowered to order the carrier to pay the damages to which he is entitled. If the carrier does not pay as ordered, the injured person may sue for payment in an appropriate Federal district court or any State court of general jurisdiction having jurisdiction of the parties and the order must be accepted as prima facie evidence of the facts involved.

This amendment is another of those whose purpose it is to strengthen enforcement of applicable laws in interstate and foreign transportation. Primarily, however, it provides a way to recover damages.

8. Reparations orders to be reviewed by district court.-Section 8 amends section 1006 of the Federal Aviation Act. It is necessary to make orders of the Civil Aeronautics Board, concerned with reparations by air carriers to a shipper charged unlawfully high rates, reviewable by a Federal district court, as provided in the reparations statute, rather than by a court of appeals, which is the court to which orders of the Board are usually referred.

9. Simplication of Government transportation rates and procurement; transportation of mail by motor vehicle common carriers.-The purpose of section 9 is to simplify rate structures for the procurement of Government transpor

tation and by experiments to develop systems that will make rate ascertainment and publication less costly and more convenient. In addition, it will give the Post Office Department greater flexibility in the use of motor vehicle common carriers for the transportation of mail.

The simplification and automation of the common carrier's transportation rates offer a means to remedy the complex pricing system presently employed. Such simplification does not appear to be feasible under the present commercial tariff system, consisting largely of special commodity rates which are subject to too frequent changes to be practical for automatic data processing. Therefore, any changes in this regard require that such a simplified system for Government transportation be established separate from commercial transportation. In order to provide a broad base for such a system, the first subsection of the amendment would authorize the procurement of Government transportation, including mail transportation services by common carrier motor carriers, and accessorial services, from all modes of transportation, without regard to any law requiring formal advertised bidding procedures. Under existing law, the negotiating authority extends only to transportation services by common carriers. The second subsection would provide for the initiation and establishment, through progressive research and development, of a system of simplified rate structures for Government traffic. The first proviso would require a determination that the proposed simplified rate structure is in the public interest and may be expected to result in lower overall costs to the Government, or at least no increase in costs. The second proviso prescribes the initial direction to be taken in research and experimentation, viz., diminished differentiation among commodities, simplified methods for determination of distances adaptable to automatic data processing and improved procedures for evaluation of charges. These experiments are to be pilot studies for a more general simplification of rates and for the application of new kinds of service to transportation in general.

10. Transfer of loan guaranty authority.—Sections 10 through 14 would transfer the railroad loan guaranty authority of the ICC and the aviation loan guaranty authority of the CAB, to the Department of Commerce. Provisions are included for the continuance of actions taken by the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Interstate Commerce Commission unless or until changed by the Secretary of Commerce, and for the transfer of persons, property, records, and unexpended appropriations from those agencies to the Department of Commerce.

The purpose of these amendments is to achieve a better balance of Federal promotional programs by transferring this authority to the Department of Commerce, which is already a focal point for Government transportation activities, and which, because it is an executive agency, can act upon guaranty loan applications more expeditiously than the regulatory agencies.

ANALYSIS OF A PROPOSED BILL TO EXEMPT CERTAIN CARRIERS FROM MINIMUM RATE REGULATION IN THE TRANSPORTATION OF BULK COMMODITIES, AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY PRODUCTS, AND PASSENGERS

Section 1. Exemption for ICC Carriers.-The exemption from minimum rate regulation provided in this section would apply to all carriers subject to regulation by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Such exemption applies to (1) bulk commodities, (2) agricultural and fishery products, and (3) passengers. (a) Bulk commodities: Rates charged by any carrier subject to the Interstate Commerce Act for the transportation of commodities in bulk which are loaded and carried without wrappers or containers and received and delivered by the carrier without transportation mark or count, or to the transportation of liquid commodities in bulk, would be exempt from the minimum rate regulation of the Interstate Commerce Commission. However, such carriers would be subject to applicable antitrust laws as discussed below.

The purpose of this exemption is to equalize competitive opportunities between carriers of different modes of transportation and to permit the forces of competition to replace cumbersome regulation for these commodities. At present, the transportation of bulk commodities by water carriers is exempt from all rate regulation under the Interstate Commerce Act, including the approval of minimum rates; but this exemption is denied to all other modes of transportation. Extending to such other carriers the exemption from the approval or prescription of minimum rates would correct this inequity.

(b) Agricultural and fishery products: Similarly, the exemption from minimum rate regulation for the transportation of certain agricultural and fishery products (specified in sec. 203 (b) of the Interstate Commerce Act) now available only to motor carriers and freight forwarders would be extended under this section to all carriers subject to the Interstate Commerce Act. The purpose of this amendment, like the exemption from minimum rate regulation for bulk commodities, is to reduce drastically and equalize fairly the regulation of freight rates in this country. Freed to exercise normal managerial initiative, carriers will be able to rationalize their operations and reduce costs; and shippers should consequently enjoy a wider choice, improved service and lower rates.

(c) Passengers: Consistent with the freedom from minimum rate regulation for certain kinds of freight is the freedom to set minimum fares for passengers. Accordingly, this section would withdraw the power of the Commission to determine that a fare prescribed by a carrier is lower than a reasonable minimum fare. Again, as with the freedom to set minimum rates for bulk commodities and agricultural and fishery products, the carrier would be subject to the proceedings and penalties in the applicable antitrust laws with respect to the fares charged. This amendment is designed to unshackle carriers from the uniform minimum fares fixed by the Commission for passenger travel. This will permit vigorous competition and innovation which in the long run should end chronic overcapacity and deficits in providing this service.

To prevent the absence of minimum rate regulation under the above three proposals from resulting in predatory, discriminatory trade practices or rate wars reflecting monopolistic ambitions rather than true efficiency, there is included in this section a provision making carriers who engage in such practices subject to applicable antitrust laws. However, in recognition that it is acceptable practice for a common carrier to establish through routes with other such carriers, or to consider, initiate or establish jointly with other such carriers the rates, fares, classifications, divisions, allowances, or charges applicable solely to such reasonable through routes, a proviso has been included making it clear that such joint action shall not be construed as a violation of the antitrust laws. Section 1(b) would amend section 5a of the Interstate Commerce Act (which exempts agreements among carriers subject to the act, respecting rates or procedures for making rates, from the antitrust laws if the agreements are approved by the Commission) to withdraw the power of the Commission to approve agreements and thereby grant immunity from the application of the antitrust laws, for any party who makes an agreement with respect to any rate, charge or fare for the transportation of passengers, bulk commodities or agricultural or fishery products referred to in section 1(23) of the act.

In short, a carrier exempt from minimum rate regulation in the transportation of passengers, bulk or agricultural or fishery products is subject to the antitrust laws, except were an agreement as to rates is reached with other carriers on the carriage of those items on through routes.

2. Section 2 amends section 303 (b) of the Interstate Commerce Act, which is the present bulk commodities exemption, by removing the requirement that no more than three such commodities can be carried in one vessel or tow and by revising the definition of bulk commodities to eliminate the requirement that the commodities must have been treated as bulk commodities in 1939. This has the effect of exempting bulk commodities transported by water carrier from all regulation.

3. Section 3 amends section 418 of the Interstate Commerce Act to include all carriers authorized to transport bulk commodities as carriers, the services of which freight forwarders may utilize. The amendment merely takes account of the fact that the bulk-commodities exemption has been extended to carriers other than by water.

4. Section 4 extends to intercoastal water carriers the same exemption from minimum rate control for the transportation of persons or bulk commodities or agricultural or fishery products as is proposed for carriers subject to the Interstate Commerce Act under section 1.

5. Section 5 would amend the Federal Aviation Act to limit the authority of the Civil Aeronautics Board to the determination and prescription of just and reasonable maximum rates or charges for the transportation of bulk commodities or agricultural or fishery products. As to these items of freight, air carriers would be as free from minimum rate control as carriers subject to the Interstate Commerce Commission or Federal Maritime Commission. Antitrust laws would be applicable in the same way.

Such freedom from minimum rate control has not been extended to the carriage of passengers, as with other carriers, in recognition of the need to proceed more gradually in the deregulation of passenger fares in air transportation. The intent of Congress to attain this freedom from minimum rate control is expressed in the last subsection so that business incentives and competition may play a more influential role in the pricing of air transportation.

[S. 3242, 87th Cong., 2d sess.]

A BILL To provide for strengthening and improving the national transportation system, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Transportation Act of 1962".

EXPERIMENTS BY COMMON CARRIERS IN RATE, CLASSIFICATION, AND DOCUMENTATION SYSTEMS

SEC. 2. (a) In order to test new service combinations or arrangements, simplified documentation, and plans for different or simplified rate bases and freight classifications, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Civil Aeronautics Board, and the Federal Maritime Commission are empowered to authorize experiments by individual common carriers, between common carriers of the same mode of transportation, between common carriers of different modes of transportation, or among common carriers of all modes of transportation subject to the regulatory authority of agencies of the United States.

(b) Experiments in subsection (a) shall, after notice to the public affording interested persons opportunity to submit written views, be authorized by the regulatory agency concerned, or, where common carriers subject to different regulatory agencies are concerned, by those agencies jointly. Such regulatory agency or agencies shall control and carefully supervise such experiments and shall provide, in any authorization granted for such experiments, terms and conditions covering the duration, location, number, scope, and type of such experiment.

(c) Experiments in subsection (a) may be proposed by carriers, shippers, or regulatory agencies. However, participation by shippers or common carriers subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, the Federal Aviation Act or the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, shall be voluntary.

(d) Where joint action by two or more agencies is required under subsection (b) or (c) hereof, it shall be taken by the joint boards provided for in section 1003 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, and the actions of such joint boards shall be reviewable as therein provided.

(e) For the purposes of this section, each agency referred to in subsection (a) shall have the powers conferred on it in the statute creating such agency, and nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the existing regulatory powers of such agencies.

RIGHT TO SHIP VEHICLES OR CONTAINERS ON CARRIERS OF OTHER MODES WITHOUT PRICE DISCRIMINATION

SEC. 3. (a) Section 2 of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C. 2) is amended by inserting "(a)" after "SEC. 2" and by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

"(b) Common carriers subject to the provisions of this part shall not unjustly discriminate as to service or rates in the transportation of loaded or empty vehicles or shipping containers tendered for transportation by any shipper or carrier, whether or not regulated."

(b) Section 216 (d) of such Act is amended by changing the period at the end thereof to a colon and adding the following: "Provided further, however, That common carriers subject to the provisions of this part shall not unjustly discriminate as to service or rates in the transportation of loaded or empty vehicles or shipping containers tendered for transportation by any shipper or carrier, whether or not regulated."

(c) Section 305 (c) of such Act is amended by changing the period after the proviso to a semicolon and adding the following: "Provided further, however, that common carriers subject to the provisions of this part shall not unjustly dis

criminate as to service or rates in the transportation of loaded or empty vehicles or shipping containers tendered for transportation by any shipper or carrier, whether or not regulated."

ESTABLISHMENT OF THROUGH SERVICE AND JOINT RATES; JOINT BOARDS

SEC. 4. (a) It is hereby declared to be in the national interest that the establishment of through service and joint rates, fares, and charges between carriers of all modes of transport be encouraged and promoted.

(b) Section 1003 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1483) is hereby amended to read as follows:

"DESIGNATION OF BOARDS

"SEC. 1003. (a) The Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, and the Interstate Commerce Commission shall direct their respective chairmen to designate, from time to time, a like number of members of each to act as a joint board to consider and pass upon matters referred to such board as provided in subsection (e) of this section.

"THROUGH SERVICE AND JOINT RATES, FARES, AND CHARGES

"(b) Air carriers subject to the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, common carriers subject to parts I, II, and III of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, and common carriers by water subject to 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 reasonable through service and joint rates, fares, and charges with any other such common carriers in connection with the transportation of persons or property in interstate or foreign commerce; 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 subsection, with common carriers subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, as amended.

"JOINT RATES, FARES, AND CHARGES TO BE JUST, REASONABLE

"(c) In case of through service, it shall be the duty of carriers party thereto to establish just and reasonable rates, fares, or charges and just and reasonable classifications, rules, regulations, and practices affecting such rates, fares, or charges, or the value of the service thereunder, and if joint rates, fares, or charges shall have been established with respect to such through service, tariffs naming such joint rates, fares, or charges shall be filed by each of the carriers party thereto 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. Just, reasonable, and equitable divisions thereof between the carriers participating therein, which shall not unduly prefer or prejudice any of such participating carriers, shall be established.

"COMPLIANCE WITH TARIFFS

"(d) No carrier party to a tariff filed in accordance with subsection (c) 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 punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $20,000 for each offense.

"REFERENCE TO JOINT BOARDS

"(e) Matters relating to such through service and joint rates, fares, or charges may be referred by the Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, or the Interstate Commerce Commission, upon complaint or upon its own initiative, to a joint board created as provided in subsection (a). Complaints may be filed