The rail safety bill, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance in response to the East Palestine train derailment disaster, is having some issues in the Senate and likely faces a roadblock in the House of Representatives.

Regarding the lack of movement, Brown, D-Cleveland, told me: “I never promised you, David, or promised anybody in East Palestine that this was going to be easy. That’s certain. But I’m optimistic because so far, we’ve done it right.”

The legislation was introduced March 1 by Brown and Vance, R-Cincinnati, and was approved 16-11 May 10 by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The next step is a full Senate vote.

Brown said all 51 senators who are eit000her Democrats or caucus with that party support the bill.

Seven Republican senators are on record as backing the bill.

But for legislation to move in the Senate, it needs 60 votes, so the bill is now two votes shy.

“As soon as we have the 60, we will go to the floor and pass it,” Brown said. “I think we will have enough votes. I think maybe we already do, but we haven’t had the commitments yet.”

Vance is confident the bill will pass the Senate, but wants to make sure it gets House approval.

“We can force a vote on the Rail Safety Act whenever we want to,” he said. “But what I’m trying to do is get the legislation in place where the House would be more supportive of it. I think we have a good chance of passing the House, even in its present form. But you want to maximize the chance that is passes the House.”

Vance isn’t interested in getting the Senate to pass the bill and then have it die in the House.

“We’re trying to do as much work before we vote it out of the Senate, as much work as possible so that our House colleagues can take it up,” he said.

Vance and Brown introduced the bill in response to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern rail derailment in East Palestine that caused the evacuation of much of the village and the release of toxic chemicals into the environment that’s still being cleaned up.

The bill would enhance safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, expand types of materials listed as hazardous on trains, require railroads to create disaster plans, tell emergency response commissions what hazardous materials are going through their states, establish requirements for wayside detectors every 15 miles, increase time for rail car inspections, increase penalties for violations from up to $100,000 to $10 million, require at least two-member crews and ensure that fire departments are reimbursed costs when responding to major train derailments.

Two rail safety bills are in the House.

One is identical to the Brown-Vance bill, sponsored by U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., and Nick LaLota, R-N.Y. It sits in a House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee.

The other bill, Reducing Accidents in Locomotives (RAIL) Act, has bipartisan support from Ohio members of the House and is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, whose district includes East Palestine, and U.S. Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes, D-Akron.

This proposal received a March 28 hearing by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Materials. Johnson is its chairman.

But it has to go through the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to get on the House floor.

Sykes, a member of that committee, wants a hearing now, but the Republican majority is waiting until after the National Transportation Safety Board finishes its derailment investigation.

Sykes and the other Democrats who sit on the committee sent a letter to the Republican chairman asking for a hearing.

Johnson told me in April the Brown-Vance companion bill is “dead. That’s not going to go anywhere.”

He was more optimistic about his proposal.

Brown has been concerned about the House, saying that the railroad lobby is very strong and has a lot of influence over Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Brown said, “The bill with Johnson and Sykes, it’s not quite as good as our bill, mind you. It’s going to be hard because McCarthy is close to the railroad lobby.”

dskolnick@vindy.com