WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the six weeks since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine and led to a controlled release of toxic chemicals, Ohio’s members of Congress have been trying to figure out what can be done at the federal level to avoid this from happening again.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio U.S. Representatives Bill Johnson (R) and Emilia Sykes (D) introduced the RAIL Act on Friday in response to the East Palestine train derailment

  • The sweeping legislation would task the Department of Transportation with imposing new regulations and audits of the rail industry

  • Johnson and Sykes said their bill can be considered a companion bill to the recent bipartisan Railway Safety Act introduced by Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown (D) and JD Vance (R)
  • The challenge moving forward is convincing enough Republicans in the GOP-led House to support the legislation

On Friday, Sykes, D-Ohio’s 13th District, and Johnson, R-Ohio’s 6th District, teamed up to unveil the “Reducing Accidents in Locomotives (RAIL) Act.” It has support from nine other Ohio U.S. House members across both parties.

Sykes and Johnson spoke with Spectrum News in separate interviews on Friday, their first since introducing the bill.

“One thing that is very clear to me is we cannot wait. This is a very important issue,” Sykes, who represents the Akron region, said.

“I hope we come together and produce something that can get to the president's desk so we don't ever see this kind of thing happen again,” Johnson, who represents East Palestine, said.

The legislation would task the U.S. Transportation Secretary with a variety of regulatory and oversight responsibilities, including issuing new regulations for trains carrying hazardous materials; regularly auditing federal rail car inspection programs; creating new guidelines for installing wayside defect detectors and adding rules for temperature warnings for equipment; increasing rail company fines for accidents; and requiring Class 1 rail carriers to each pay $1 million per year toward training for first responders.  

Two weeks ago, Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown (D) and JD Vance (R) introduced their own rail safety bill.

On Friday, Johnson and Sykes said they were working toward merging the two bills. 

“What I'm hoping is that it's a companion bill. I mean, that's what I view,” Johnson said.

Sykes agreed, saying: “I would say this bill is substantially similar for a lot of different reasons. There are a few differences.”

One difference is the Vance/Brown bill would require rail companies to have two-person crews on all freight trains, while the Johnson/Sykes bill does not.

Sykes said the rail industry successfully lobbied it out of the bill in the House, where Republicans are in charge. But Johnson said the rule might not be needed, considering the train in East Palestine had a three-person crew.

In a statement Friday first obtained by Spectrum News, Vance called the RAIL Act “a great bill” and said he’s “very glad to see that Congressman Johnson has such a strong, bipartisan group from the Ohio delegation behind it.”

Brown is also supportive. In an interview on Thursday, he said the hard work lies in the GOP-led House, not the Democratic-led Senate.

“We will pass it in the Senate. I’m confident we’ll get every Democrat and we’ll get at least 10 or 15 Republicans that I’m working with and Vance is working with,” Brown said. “The issue is getting it through the House too, and we’re working on that.”

Though some House Republicans have expressed skepticism that more regulation is the answer, Johnson said his bill is written to appeal to at least some of his colleagues.

“I intend to work this bill hard on the Republican side. And I believe we've got a good shot at getting something across the finish line,” he said.

The RAIL Act is the first bill Sykes is introducing since taking office in January. She’s the only Ohio lawmaker who serves on the Transportation Committee, so she’s hoping that will help get the ball rolling.

“The fact that we have six Republicans and five Democrats from the Ohio delegation has a very strong showing that we are working as best as we can to address the needs,” Sykes said.