President Joe Biden flew directly over East Palestine, Ohio, on Tuesday after he promised in March to visit the working-class town impacted by the deadly February train derailment.
Biden’s flight path on Air Force One while heading to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for an event touting “Bidenomics,” his economic agenda, flew nearly right over East Palestine.
A freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, which wreaked havoc on the working-class town.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) detailed in an op-ed for the Columbus Dispatch:
It is difficult to fathom how a singular event could upend the daily lives of thousands of our fellow Americans. Hundreds of tons of toxic chemicals polluted the ground they walked, the water they drank, and the air they breathed. The disaster created new uncertainties for everyone nearby. Do I have to find a new home? Is my small businesses going to survive? Will I suffer long-term health effects?
In March, Biden said he would visit the town at “some point.”
However, since the train derailment, citizens of the town have reported “worrying symptoms,” including headaches, dizziness, and nausea.
Vance has called on Biden to visit the beleaguered town.
“Sometimes leadership is as simple as just showing up. When a disaster decimates an American community, the commander-in-chief should be expected to assure the suffering, in person, that the entire nation is behind them,” the Ohio senator said in his op-ed.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 22: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) delivers remarks during a hearing held by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on March 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony on “Improving Rail Safety in response to the East Palestine Derailment”. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
He said that Biden has also not granted assistance by issuing a Presidential Disaster Declaration. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) asked for the declaration in July.
“The Biden Administration has ignored Ohio’s pleas for help. This is inexcusable,” he added.
Vance said that while his legislation, the Railway Safety Act, advances in Congress, Biden and Norfolk Southern must “double” their efforts to relieve the citizens of East Palestine.
The legislation, a highly popular bill backed by Sens. Vance, Josh Hawley (R-MO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), would:
- Enhance safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials by:
- Including new safety requirements and procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials like vinyl chloride.
- Requiring Class I railroads to provide advance notification and information to state emergency response officials about what they are transporting.
- Commissioning a study by the Federal Railroad Administration to recommend solutions for blocked railway crossings and hazards posed by extremely long trains.
- Requiring older tank cars to be phased out no later than 2027.
- Reduce the risk of wheel bearing failures by:
- Requiring the Federal Railroad Administration to oversee improvements by Class I railroads in the nationwide network of wayside defect detectors.
- Prohibiting maximum inspection times to ensure qualified inspectors have sufficient time to review trains before they leave railyards.
- Require well-trained, two-person crews aboard all Class I Railroads
- Force rail carriers to face heightened fines for wrongdoing by:
- Substantially increasing the maximum fines USDOT can issue for safety violations.
- Support communities impacted by rail disasters by:
- Expanding HAZMAT training grants for local law enforcement and first responders through increased registration fees paid by Class I railroads.
“Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again,” Vance said in a statement in March when the legislation was introduced. “We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.