Trump, Kennedy Urge Congress to Pass Transportation Bill with New Railroad Safety Provision

The Trump administration is making a strong push for safer freight trains, urging members of Congress to pass new safety provisions.

The Trump administration is making a strong push for safer freight trains, urging members of Congress to pass new safety provisions to prevent another train derailment like the one in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, when a Norfolk Southern train jumped the tracks, spilling hazardous hydrogen chloride that caught fire and burned for more than two days, causing the evacuation of the entire town and costing the railroad $1.1 billion legal settlements and cleanup costs.

On Thursday, May 21, House Transportation Committee members will meet to discuss the new bill and cast their votes. President Trump wants Republicans to support the full bill, called the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, and particularly the Railroad Safety Act, an addition championed by Vice President JD Vance.

Referring to the East Palestine tragedy, Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon, writing, “I have long said that the horrific tragedy that beset East Palestine in 2023, along with Sleepy Joe Biden’s utterly incompetent response, must NEVER happen again … I am therefore strongly urging Congress to include the Railroad Safety Act, which I strongly endorsed in 2023, in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill. I am asking all Republicans to vote YES …..”

This bill would entirely change the way the big railroads in America operate and have operated since the late 1800s, requiring them to enroll in a program run by NASA that would allow railroad employees to report close calls and unsafe incidents and share information without fear of reprisal from their employer. It also would enshrine in federal law the regulation that trains that are considered high-hazard are limited to 50 miles per hour, and 40 miles per hour when moving through “high-threat urban areas.”

But maybe the most controversial provision is the one that would seek to limit railroad crossings, where accidents most often happen.

The bill is sponsored in the House by Rep. Troy Nehls, a Republican from Texas, and Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime environmental lawyer, weighed in on Wednesday, writing on X:

“East Palestine reminded the country that a single derailment can devastate an entire community’s health, environment, and future. I’ve spent decades fighting to protect communities from toxic chemical exposure, and the families in East Palestine deserve lasting accountability and stronger safeguards to prevent this from ever happening again. Our message to Congress is clear: pass the Railway Safety Act.”

The Railway Safety Act is a version of the bill of the same name first introduced by then Ohio Senator JD Vance in 2024 to address the many failures identified in the investigation of the East Palestine derailment of the Norfolk Southern train.

It authorizes an additional $1 billion for “railroad crossing elimination” grants and also introduces a new app to be used by conductors in the event of a hazardous spill in a rural area, so they can make the best-informed decision about how to react.

The railroad unions are supporting the bill, but the railroads themselves, as might be expected, are opposed, saying such restrictions on the operations of railroads will hurt farmers and ranchers which depend on them to bring their grains and meat to market, and will further drive up prices for all Americans.

“Farmers and ranchers rely on freight rail,” the American Association of Railroads said in a post. “When service gets more congested, more expensive & less reliable, they feel it first – and hardest.”

Rep. Troy Nehls, the lead sponsor of the bill, has repeatedly responded to these criticisms by asking how much it cost Norfolk Southern to address the disaster at East Palestine.

“There is going to be some cost to it. But what is the cost of a derailment?” he asked The Hill last week, saying he didn’t think anything has really been done for railroad safety since the disaster at East Palestine more than three years ago.

President Trump ended his Truth Social post with, “We must not delay any further on this very important matter!”