Codification of the Interstate Commerce Act Statement on Signing H.R. 10965 Into Law.

I have signed into law H.R. 10965, a bill which revises and codifies the Interstate Commerce Act and related laws as subtitle IV of title 49, United States Code, "Transportation."

The goal of this bill, to codify the Interstate Commerce Act and related statutes, is a laudable one. As its title reveals, this legislation is intended merely to restate existing law, not change it. However, section 10706 of the bill might be construed to authorize the Interstate Commerce Commission to shield from the antitrust laws intermodal rate bureaus to which rail carriers are parties. In fact, the administration believes the Commission does not possess such power, and this important issue is currently in litigation. It would, therefore, be highly inappropriate for a codification of existing law to resolve this dispute or to influence the pending litigation.

Further, the division of litigating responsibility between the Commission and the Department of Justice is not entirely free from doubt under present law.

I understand that both the bill and its legislative history state that the Congress has no intention of changing existing law or of resolving issues of ICC authority or of influencing pending litigation. With that understanding, I am approving this bill.