Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, in testimony this week before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, should take "ownership" for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Rep. Warren Davidson said Tuesday on Newsmax.
"Ultimately, whose responsibility was it to make sure the train did not derail? Norfolk Southern's," the Ohio Republican said on Newsmax's "John Bachman Now," of Shaw's testimony, scheduled for Thursday.
Davidson noted that there have been complaints not only about Norfolk Southern but rail lines around the country, which is one reason Congress got involved in last year's railroad workers' labor dispute.
"They were at an impasse," Davidson said. "The labor force was saying, 'Hey, the company isn't investing enough in their equipment in the infrastructure in us and their workers.'"
Also, Davidson said whistleblowers are saying that rail companies have operated rail cars with no functioning brakes, a regulatory requirement.
"They have downsized the number of people that inspect these rail cars," said Davidson. "Automation has made it possible to operate a train with fewer people. But can you do it safely? The automation doesn't allow breaking the cars up, so the cars are blocking roads. That's a safety risk in its own way because it blocks first responders from getting to sites."
Meanwhile, Davidson said the Biden administration isn't listening to the people of East Palestine, who are suffering from the effects, including rashes and other health concerns, from the toxic chemicals on the train that derailed in their village.
"They clearly weren't being listened to," said Davidson. "They were being dismissed. A lot of people from the administration in particular were very dismissive of the folks there in East Palestine, and I'm glad people are listening to them now."
Davidson also spoke out about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's lack of response to the emergency, saying Buttigieg is "not the right guy" to lead the department.
"The response needs to be, 'Yes, of course, the company is going to be responsible for the cleanup for the damages and for providing a safe way forward before they're trusted to keep operating rail lines,'" said Davidson. "When BP had their spill in the Gulf, we didn't say, 'Gee, who's going to take care of this?' We knew BP was going to take care of it because it was BP's oil spill."
At the time, the federal government worked in a coordinated way to make sure BP met its responsibility, but in the case of the train derailment, the administration's response has been "slow and inadequate," and "kind of dismissive," said Davidson.
"When people think it's OK that you have 1,000 to 1,700 train derailments, I think we have to say that's not OK,'" he said. "How do we get to a standard that is more acceptably safe?"
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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