July 31, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) applauds the passage of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Stability Act of 2026 (S. 4965) by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee. Designed to provide consistent and predictable RRB funding levels, the bipartisan legislation would end an unnecessary trend of funding-related service degradation. Since the RRB already has a self-sustaining finance structure paid for by railroaders, this costs the American public nothing. It instead provides RRB access to already secured funding, freeing it to operate as intended. Now that the bill has been passed by unanimous vote in committee, it will now make its way to the Senate floor.
Recent years have been marked by RRB field office closures, aging technological infrastructure, retirement and disability processing delays, and a lack of ease in accessing their own funding. This has directly harmed its service quality to America’s railroad workers, with many of those being ATDA members. The RRB Stability Act would alleviate these issues, while still maintaining Congressional oversight. The legislation would directly dedicate 5 years of existing funding to support RRB's transition to a more efficient operating system and increase staff hiring.
ATDA President Ed Dowell praised the legislation as a win for railroaders and retirees:
“Railroad workers pay into the Railroad Retirement system every day they go to work, and they deserve an agency with the staffing, technology, and stability to serve them and receive their retirement, sickness, or disability benefits without delay. We commend the Senate HELP Committee for its unanimous bipartisan support. We thank Chairman Cassidy and Ranking Member Sanders for their leadership on this bill and on the committee, and we thank Senator Banks and Senator Kaine for their dedicated support. We look forward to continuing to push this vital piece of legislation until the RRB, and in turn all railroad workers have the support they deserve and ability to access the benefits they have earned.”
