Deluzio, Fetterman renew calls for action on Railway Safety Act

Southwestern Pennsylvania lawmakers are renewing calls to bolster railway safety seven months after a train derailed near the Ohio border, causing chemicals to leak into waterways and sending a black plume of smoke into the air.

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, held a news conference last week in Beaver County’s Darlington Township, which borders Ohio and is near the site where a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, to call on Congress to pass the bipartisan Railway Safety Act.

“While Norfolk Southern and the big railroads would like Congress and the public to forget this tragedy, the scary truth is that without strong legislation to make freight rail safer, what happened in East Palestine could happen anywhere,” Deluzio said. “We cannot trust the railroads to protect our communities.”

Deluzio, whose district includes Beaver County, said that constituents in Southwestern Pennsylvania and residents across the border in Ohio have waited long enough.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, introduced a companion bill to Deluzio’s in the Senate following the East Palestine derailment. Fetterman’s bill also has bipartisan support and was introduced with U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.

Both bills look to regulate the railway industry by creating new safety requirements for trains, increasing communication between rail companies and states, and requiring hazardous cargo to be properly classified.

Groups including Association of American Railroads have been lobbying to modify the bill and noted that 99.9% of hazardous materials shipments reach their destinations safely.

Still, Fetterman said it’s important to pass the Railway Safety Act.

“It’s time for Congress to act on the Railway Safety Act and get this bipartisan bill done,” Fetterman said. “This is an opportunity to enact some truly common-sense legislation that would benefit Pennsylvania and the country, and we’ve got to get this across the finish line.”

Last week, Fetterman called out Vance and accused him of focusing more on “silly performance art” regarding his effort to ban mask mandates. Fetterman told reporters the rail bill was just one vote shy of the 60 necessary to clear the Senate and criticized Vance for focusing more on his Freedom to Breathe Act bill, which would stop the federal government from installing mask mandates on public transportation, airplanes or in public schools until the end of 2024, according to Business Insider.

Vance told reporters he is still focused on building support for the Railway Safety Act and most of his work has been trying to convince Republicans to back the bill.

“We’ve been working the railway bill really hard,” Vance told Insider. “We’re also gonna have to work other things hard as well because there are a lot of issues that the people who elected me care about.”

The House version of the Railway Safety Act has garnered 17 cosponsors, including nine Republicans and eight Democrats. The Senate version has 11 cosponsors, including six Republicans and five Democrats. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, is one of the Democratic sponsors.

Casey said that Pennsylvania families, business and first responders are still reeling from the disaster, and he urged Senate leadership to take up the bill.

The bills were referred to committees in March and saw some edits in May, but have yet to receive a vote on the Senate or House floor.