Rail safety is a rare issue where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump fall on the same side. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has spent months urging Congress to act, arguing that only through congressional action can the federal government have the control to hold rail operators accountable for unsafe practices.
Yet a year after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, there’s little enthusiasm from Congress to pass safety regulations to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance have spearheaded efforts in the Senate through the Railway Safety Act of 2023, introduced last March. Both are confident that enough senators will back the bill to get it through the 60-vote threshold for cloture. The only thing left is to put the bill on the floor, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn’t committed to doing so.