Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg slammed the railroad industry for opposing safety reforms and fired back at GOP critics during a conference call with reporters Monday night to launch a new rail safety proposal.
Buttigieg, under fire for failing to appear at the scene of the fiery derailment and explosion in East Palestine, Ohio, and waiting more than a week to publicly discuss the incident, has strongly criticized the rail industry in recent days, accusing people of profiteering. through safety.
“A freight railroad company like Norfolk Southern can remain profitable while maintaining higher safety standards and taking better care of its employees,” Buttigieg said in a phone call with reporters, referring to the railroad that trains in East Palestine, sending chemicals into the air. and terrifying citizens.
On Sunday night, Buttigieg sent a letter to the CEO of Norfolk Southern demanding that the railroad drop its opposition to numerous federal safety proposals.
The rail safety proposals — ranging from increasing the amount of fines the Department of Transportation can impose on railroads to forcing railroads to provide paid sick leave — aim to push the narrative that Buttigieg has been MIA from the effects of the disaster and may have potential. kick-start the push for rail safety legislation in Congress. Any successful push in a divided Congress will meet fierce resistance from the rail lobby, a less important but powerful force.
“Some [these proposals] have met with resistance from the industry, but I think now is the moment of potential bipartisan cooperation,” he said, emphasizing the word “potential.”
At the same time, a major roadblock to bipartisan cooperation may be the GOP’s continued criticism of Buttigieg.
While the DOT plays little role after accidents like the one in East Palestine — the Environmental Protection Agency handles the cleanup while the independent National Transportation Safety Board leads the investigation — Republicans and conservative media continue to extol local residents who own it. asked why Buttigieg didn’t show up.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote to President Joe Biden last week to call for Buttigieg’s resignation, claiming Buttigieg was “deviant.[ing] responsible for the safety of our nation’s rail system. In a phone call Monday, Buttigieg fired back.
“We heard from Sen. Rubio last week, who had some strong words about this incident,” Buttigieg said, before pointing to an October 2021 letter from the GOP senator that Rubio signed. “I can’t help but understand that the last time this agency heard from him on rail regulations was that his signature was on a letter that was clearly created by the industry, asking us to crack down on track inspection practices.”
At the same time, Buttigieg told reporters that he was going to visit East Palestine. White House and Transportation Department officials said Buttigieg and other top officials had avoided the village of about 4,000 people, which sits near the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania, because they did not want to disrupt recovery efforts.
“I’m very interested in getting to know the people of East Palestine, hearing from them,” Buttigieg said. “When the time is right, I will visit East Palestine. I don’t have a date with you now.”
Many of Buttigieg’s proposals, including raising the fines the DOT can impose, currently just over $225,000, require congressional approval. He also wants Congress to restore the 2025 deadline for railroads to use safer tank cars, create new laws to encourage better use of the system, and limit the use of dangerous and flammable trains.
Buttigieg said the DOT will also be able to finalize the rules requiring at least two crewmembers for train staff, the proposal of the rail industry has fought fiercely and will create a program to increase supervision on rail routes with dangerous traffic.