WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 2, 2021 – Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued the following statement on Sen. Rob Portman’s Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act (S. 545). “Sen. Portman’s legislation is a common-sense measure that is long overdue. Affected railroaders and their families should not be singled out and penalized from receiving full unemployment benefits, and Sen. Portman’s legislation rightfully restores equity to the rail unemployment insurance program by removing the arbitrary sequester limitation.” The legislation would permanently remove Railroad Unemployment Insurance (RUI) and Sickness Insurance benefits from the impacts of budget sequestration, the only unemployment program to have these impacts. Unlike the average American worker, railroaders do not receive unemployment or sickness benefits through state-administered programs. Instead, they receive these benefits through the Railroad Retirement Board’s (RRB) Railroad Unemployment Insurance Program.

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For more information contact: AAR Media Relations at media@aar.org or 202-639-2345. About AAR: The AAR is the world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers. AAR members include the major freight railroads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. Follow us on Twitter: @AAR_FreightRail or Facebook: www.facebook.com/freightrail.