Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) slammed GOP lawmakers opposing his bipartisan rail safety bill following the East Palestine train derailment in Ohio, questioning their motives during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Thursday.
The freshman lawmaker, who is leading the legislation along with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), stated he is a conservative but said putting some regulations in place is appropriate to prevent similar incidents in the future.
"I've talked to a number of my Republican colleagues, and nearly everybody has dealt in complete good faith, whether they like the bill or have some concerns about it, and these comments are not directed at them. Who they are directed at is a particular slice of people who seem to think that any public safety enhancement for the rail industry is somehow a violation of the free market,” he said.
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“Well, if you look at this industry and what's happened in the last 30 years, that argument is a farce," he added. "This is an industry that enjoys special subsidies that almost no industry enjoys. This is an industry that has enjoyed special legal carve-outs that almost no industry enjoys. This is an industry that just three months ago had the federal government come in and save them from a labor dispute. It was effectively a bailout, and now, they're claiming before the Senate and the House that reasonable regulation is somehow a violation of the free market — well, pot meet the kettle because that doesn't make an ounce of sense.”
The Ohio Republican went on to argue that by failing to have an appropriate legislative response to the toxic train derailment, conservatives would be protecting corporations over the working-class voters who elected them.
“You cannot claim special government privileges. You cannot ask the government to bail you out and then resist basic public safety. Now, let me just say this. You've heard a lot of talk from my fellow Republicans, and I think that talk is very justified, that we are the party of working people in this country. There's been a big political realignment in this country over the last 30 years. A political realignment that, frankly, I've benefited from. We are the party of firefighters, of police officers, of the people who go to work, pay their taxes, fight our country's wars, and keep our community safe,” he said.
“We are proud of that, and we should be proud of that in the Republican Party," he continued. "But now, we are faced with a choice with this legislation and how we respond to this crisis. Do we do the bidding of a massive industry that is in bed with big government, or do we do the bidding of the people who elected us to the Senate into the Congress in the first place? I believe that we are the party of working people, but it's time to be the party of working people. We have a choice. Are we for big business and big government, or are we for the people of East Palestine? It's time for choosing — let's make the right one.”
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The hearing, which included testimony from Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, was the first in the upper chamber since the derailment last month.