BMWED has worked closely over the last month to advocate in Congress for increased funding for the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) so that it can better serve BMWED members and other rail workers. This advocacy effort includes working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate to prepare a letters separately urging House and Senate appropriators to support the RRB’s budget request for Federal Fiscal Year 2027 funding.

In the House, the effort was led by Representatives Dina Titus (D-Nevada), Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), Chris DeLuzio (D-Pennsylvania), and Pete Stauber (R-Minnesota). In the Senate, the effort was led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri). The House letter was signed by 81 Representatives and the Senate letter was signed by 15 Senators. This support is the most support the RRB has ever gotten from Congress thanks to the advocacy efforts from BMWED and the Teamsters Rail Conference.

In the letter to House and Senate Appropriations leaders, the lawmakers request $185 million dollars in Federal Fiscal Year 2027 funding for the agency’s Limitation on Administration account. This would be an increase from $127 million dollars in Federal Fiscal Year 2026.

The letters (linked below) points to growing delays and administrative strain at the RRB that are affecting the ability of rail workers getting their disability and other benefits on time because the lack of funding for the RRB has led them to be severely understaffed.

BMWED members and fellow railroad workers have spent decades paying into a system designed to support them when they need it most. The RRB administers retirement, disability, unemployment, and sickness benefits under a system that is separate from Social Security. The RRB is funded by taxes on railroad employees and employers, not by general taxpayer revenue, and there is no cost to the American taxpayer should the funding be increased. It would give the RRB access to contributions that hard-working railroad workers have already paid into the system so they can better serve railroad workers.

The Senators and Representatives in their letters outlined several challenges facing the agency. Current funding levels have contributed to outdated IT systems, staffing shortages, and major processing delays. Disability claims now take an average of 14 months to process. Many BMWED members have raised these issues in discussions with their system officers and at local lodge meetings.

Lawmakers emphasized that the proposed increase would allow the RRB to modernize its operations, increase staffing, and reduce application backlogs and benefit delays. The goal is to ensure that railroad workers receive the benefits they have earned in a timely manner.