An internal memo by Sen. JD Vance to fellow Republicans on the Commerce Committee suggests several lines of inquiry to lawmakers ahead of Wednesday's hearing.
Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance told a Senate committee that the initial response to the Ohio train derailment was slow in part because "a certain segment of our leadership feels like the people of East Palestine are a little out of style"Sen.
Under current rules, the maximum fine for safety violations is roughly $225,000, according to Vance’s document. Vance’s bill would raise the penalty to 1% of a railroad’s annual operating income. Another aspect of the bill that Vance is urging senators to address at the hearing is aimed at expanding the designation for high-hazard flammable trains to include flammable gas, which currently appears to be excluded from the law outlining the safety standard.
The 2019 safety legislation, called the FAST Act, requires railroads carrying a certain class of toxic materials of a specific length to have emergency protocols in place and be able to alert relevant authorities upon request. "In the East Palestine derailment, 17 of the tank cars were loaded with combustible liquids, flammable liquids, or flammable gas, including vinyl chloride, and three contained residue only. A high-hazard flammable train designation is triggered at 1 million gallons of class three material. It is reasonable to suggest that a similar designation be devised to apply to a train carrying 1.5 million pounds of flammable gas and other chemicals," the senator wrote.
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