Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Railroad Retirement Board Stability Act, which would provide long-term funding for RRB’s day-to-day operations. The much-needed legislation comes after months of hard work and lobbying by the Teamsters Rail Conference.
In 2001, Congress created the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust to invest on behalf of the RRB and its trust funds. Since then, the Trust’s assets have continued to grow, making the railroad retirement system self-sustaining. Despite large revenues from the Trust, the RRB currently faces a growing backlog of benefits claims due to understaffing and aging IT infrastructure. The RRB Stability Act enables the RRB to use a limited portion of its surplus funds for the purpose of modernizing infrastructure and clearing the case backlog. It also contains provisions to protect the solvency and sustainability of the Trust.
“The Railroad Retirement Board and the benefits that BLET and BMWED members receive through the RRB are vital to the day-to-day livelihoods of our members and their families,” said BLET National President Mark Wallace, who also serves as President of the Teamsters Rail Conference. “In February, Jeff Joines from the Teamsters Rail Conference, in a hearing, highlighted for the Senate HELP Committee how outdated systems and reduced staffing have hindered the RRB’s important work, causing workers to wait over 440 days for an initial adjudication of applications for disability benefits if they are injured on the job. We are grateful to Chairman Cassidy, Ranking Member Sanders, and the HELP Committee for following up on the hearing and introducing the Railroad Retirement Board Stability Act of 2026, which will give the RRB the long-term funding stability it needs and revolutionize the RRB’s ability to effectively serve our members. We strongly endorse the legislation and urge Senators to support it.”