Senate Commerce Committee Votes to Advance Bipartisan Railway Reform Bill

A bipartisan railway reform bill, written in the wake of the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, cleared a key Senate committee Wednesday.

The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted 16-11 to advance the Railway Safety Act of 2023, sponsored by Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown (D) and J.D. Vance (R). Vance and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) joined every Democrat on the panel in voting to advance the measure.

The bill includes several provisions that rail worker unions repeatedly called for in 2022, eventually threatening a strike until legislation signed by President Biden compelled them to accept a White House-brokered agreement. It would require two-man crews on trains, a major union demand.

Read the source article at thehill.com