WASHINGTON, D.C. – In Case You Missed It: Last week, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and JD Vance (R-OH), along with U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 to prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine. The bill takes a number of key steps to improve rail safety protocols, such as enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establishing requirements for wayside defect detectors, creating a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, increasing fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers, and more.
Read what editorial boards are saying about Brown’s bipartisan legislation to prevent future derailment disasters:
Youngstown Vindicator: Proposed new rail regulations common sense
- “U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, and J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, are co-sponsors of an important piece of legislation that would impose both new regulations for the railroad industry and financial consequences for breaking them. The Railway Safety Act of 2023 may have been inspired by a disaster in East Palestine, but the changes could help keep people across the country safer.”
Toledo Blade: Bipartisan Rail Act wise
- “A bipartisan team of U.S. Senators led by Ohio’s J.D. Vance, a Republican, and Democrat Sherrod Brown have introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023 as protection against future incidents like the East Palestine accident.”
- “The senators agree that federal rail regulations have prioritized profit over safety and the changes they propose will restore the proper balance between commercial and community interests.”
The Ironton Tribune: Working together in crisis
- “U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has been especially strong on this matter. He hosted a conference call on Wednesday to discuss new railroad safety legislation that he has introduced, along with his junior senator, Republican JD Vance.”
- “The landmark bill is being hailed by labor as one of the biggest changes to the industry in a generation.”
- “In discussing his work with Vance, who is about as far on the political spectrum from Brown as they come, the senator said he hopes to continue the tradition of Ohio bipartisanship that he established with Vance’s Republican predecessor, Rob Portman, and come together to get things done on subject where they agree.”
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