A Senate bill to improve rail safety in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, train disaster advanced out of committee Wednesday with bipartisan support, setting the stage for a vote before the full chamber.
The Senate Commerce Committee voted 16-11 to advance the Railway Safety Act, sponsored by Ohio’s two senators, Sherrod Brown (D) and J.D. Vance (R), after a Feb. 3 train derailment and controlled burn released toxic chemicals into the town.
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The legislation would mandate that at least two people operate rail trains, impose new safety requirements for the detection and prevention of equipment failures, and set higher maximum penalties for federal safety violations.
The panel met for an hour on Wednesday to consider a series of amendments to the bill. The markup follows testimony in March from the CEO of Norfolk Southern, the train company responsible for the crash.
The derailment sparked bipartisan condemnation from members of Congress, but Republican reluctance to impose new regulations cast doubt on whether the bill could pass.
Vance has secured a growing number of GOP co-sponsors since he and Brown unveiled the legislation on March 1. On Monday, he announced the support of three Republican senators: Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Mitt Romney (R-UT).
Former President Donald Trump endorsed the bill the same day.
Two Republicans — Vance and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) — ultimately joined all Democrats in advancing the rail safety measure out of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Vance, one of several senators Trump helped get elected in 2022, has pushed the Republican Party to embrace a populist agenda since arriving in Congress in January. He has framed Republicans’ vote on the legislation as a choice between standing with working-class voters or corporate interests.
“I think there’s a very clear choice between — these trains crash in our communities, they’re disproportionately Republican areas — are we going to stand up for the people we represent, or are we going to stand up for the rail lobby?” he told the Washington Examiner. “And a lot of Republicans, I think, are answering that the right way.”
Many Republicans are nonetheless expected to oppose the bill when it comes up for a vote on the Senate floor.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the ranking member of the Commerce Committee, joined other Republicans in balking at a provision providing commuter railroads tens of millions related to the installation of hotboxes on tracks. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, complained that the commuter rail industry has already received billions in federal funding.
He argued the bill, which he called a “stocking horse for onerous regulatory mandates and union giveaways,” doesn’t address the causes of the Ohio train derailment, an assertion that Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) disputed.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) raised concerns over how the legislation could affect the transportation of coal out of her home state of Wyoming.
“I get it that the Ohio senators are trying to address a specific issue that was just devastating, and I’m glad they’re working on it together,” she told the Washington Examiner. “But there are provisions in the bill that are difficult for coal companies on which we’re very dependent to get our coal out of state.”
The legislation is expected to pass the Senate, and President Joe Biden has voiced his support. Yet its prospects in the House remain unclear.
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Vance said that, for now, he is focused on shepherding it through the upper chamber.
“Let’s get it through the Senate, walk before we can run, but I feel good about it in both chambers,” he said.
