WASHINGTON ― Saturday marks one year since a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio , spreading toxic chemicals all over the community.
And in that time, Congress has done “absolutely nothing” to make railroads safer, and keeps failing to act on bipartisan legislation to prevent something like that from happening again, Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) said in a Thursday speech on the House floor.
He made the same point again in a Friday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The Ohio train derailment “significantly impacted the lives of my constituents across the state line in Beaver Country, Pennsylvania,” Deluzio wrote to Johnson. “I have spent the past year fighting to make freight rail safer for folks like us. It is long past time that Congress takes bipartisan action.”
“Accordingly, I ask that you bring the Railway Safety Act to the floor for a vote before Congress adjourns for the August recess,” he said.
This bill, which Deluzio introduced last March with Republican Rep. Nick LaLota (N.Y.), has a wild, bipartisan mix of supporters. The Senate version is led by Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown (D) and J.D. Vance (R), along with cosponsors Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). The bill has both Democratic and GOP supporters in both chambers. The Biden administration backs it. So does former President Donald Trump.