Opinion: Congress’ Rail Safety Act has little to do about rail safety, more to do about special interests
After many years of working in the policy world, I have concluded that politics is at most 10% about making the world better and safer. The rest is at least 45% theater and 45% catering to special interest groups. Further evidence for my assessment comes from the recent grandstanding in the U.S. Senate on rail safety.
Enter the Rail Safety Act, a joint product of Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. This bill, introduced in early May, is touted as a legislative response to the February freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled toxic material, forcing people out of their homes and filling the air with toxic gas. Thankfully, no one was injured.
This is not surprising. What the bill does have is an awful lot in it for unions to like. For instance, it would freeze train crew sizes and require more inspections that can only be performed by, you guessed it, union workers.
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