The Railway Safety Act advanced through the Senate Commerce Committee this morning by a vote of 16–11. Two Republicans, J.D. Vance (Ohio) and Eric Schmitt (Mo.), joined every Democrat in passing it. All eleven “no” votes were Republicans, including the committee’s ranking member, Ted Cruz (Texas).
Among Republicans in the entire Senate, Vance, Schmitt, Josh Hawley (Mo.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Mike Braun (Ind.), Roger Marshall (Kan.), and Mitt Romney (Utah) have signaled their support for the bill. Donald Trump said he also supports it, despite its inclusion of regulations that his administration rejected.
Cruz said the bill would give the Biden administration a “free hand to aggressively restrict the movement of coal, oil, natural gas, ethanol and other essential commodities that the radical green movement hates.” One way it would do that is by expanding the definition of “high-hazard flammable train” to more substances. That designation currently applies largely to trains carrying petroleum and subjects them to heavier regulation.
According to the Washington Examiner, John Thune (R., S.D.) called the bill a “stocking horse [sic] for onerous regulatory mandates and union giveaways,” and said it doesn’t address the causes of the East Palestine train derailment. Cynthia Lummis (R., Wyo.) was concerned about how the legislation would affect the transportation of coal.
Speaking to the committee, Vance highlighted the bill’s support from former Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought and from Trump, who Vance said “had a deep emotional connection to the people of East Palestine.”
He also said, “We have the support of the Heritage Foundation.” Heritage’s “2025 Mandate for Leadership” argues against a two-man crew-size mandate currently under consideration by the Federal Railroad Administration. The crew-size mandate is a key part of the Railway Safety Act. A statement on Heritage’s Twitter account from Steve Bradbury, issued after Vance’s comments to the committee, praises Vance but stops short of endorsing the legislation, saying that “additional changes would strengthen the bill.” The statement does not mention the crew-size mandate.
As the committee vote shows, the only question on whether this bill will pass the Senate is whether enough Republicans support it to prevent a filibuster. Democrats are unanimously behind it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has not said how he intends to vote.
Republican skepticism is warranted. The bill has quadrupled in length since it was first introduced and contains many provisions that have little to do with the accident in East Palestine. Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Pete Buttigieg have all said they support the bill. It would expand Buttigieg’s power to regulate the rail industry, with 35 “Secretary shall” phrases directing him to perform specific actions, despite Republican claims of Buttigieg’s manifest incompetence. Imposing new regulations on rail could make overall transportation more dangerous by shifting marginal traffic to more dangerous modes, such as trucking. Just because the bill has “safety” in the title doesn’t mean it will actually increase safety.