[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Rail Safety

  Mr. President, on another subject, as East Palestine continues 
grappling with the aftermath of last month's derailment and after a 
second derailment in Ohio last weekend, Norfolk Southern announced 
yesterday a new six-point plan they claim will ``immediately enhance 
the safety of its operations.''
  But here is the question all of us should be asking: Why weren't 
these protocols already in place?
  When Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw comes before the Senate on 
Thursday, this is just one of the important questions he must answer. 
Here are a few others: What steps is Norfolk Southern taking to prevent 
future disasters like the one in East Palestine? Why did Norfolk 
Southern spend years lobbying against safety regulations intended to 
prevent accidents like the one last month? How will Norfolk Southern 
ensure communities along train routes with hazardous materials get the 
resources they need to respond to accidents--the resources and the 
information they need? Why did Norfolk Southern launch a $10 billion 
stock buyback program last year when that money could have gone to 
upgrading safety equipment, hiring more workers, or paying their 
workers better wages?
  We need answers to these questions. We need an honest, candid 
discussion how we can prevent accidents like this in the future. Part 
of that discussion must acknowledge the plain truth: Republicans have 
spent years listening to the rail lobby and opposing safety rules in 
the name of boosting rail company profits. I am talking about the Trump 
administration loosening brake maintenance and inspection regulations, 
attempting to deregulate freight train crew size, and nullifying a rule 
that implemented safety programs. I am talking about Republicans in 
this Chamber pushing for the ``self-regulation'' of railroads and 
leaving safety up to the whims of the free market, to allow for the 
transportation of more hazardous materials without proper oversight, 
and to encourage the automation of track inspection at the expense of 
safety. All of these create dangers.

  We don't know yet all the details of what exactly happened in East 
Palestine, but we know these deregulatory actions make things less 
safe.
  I hope that we can work together, Democrats and Republicans, to put a 
much-needed, long-overdue check on big rail and make sure another East 
Palestine never happens. And I commend the bipartisan legislation led 
by the Senators from Ohio--Senator Brown, a Democrat and Senator Vance, 
a Republican--to move things forward.