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Senators should put train safety before politics

Perhaps Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has been urged to seize a political opportunity by using trigger words such as “Biden administration,” “coal” and fossil fuels “that the radical green movement hates.” But for those wondering what would spark such political opportunism, it bears reminding — Cruz was grasping for excuses to oppose much-needed rail safety legislation that had made its way out of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Inspired by the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, back in February, the bill would increase inspections of trains carrying hazardous materials, require the use of technology to detect track defects, and increase penalties on railroad companies for crashes.

“There will be another East Palestine in this country if we do not pass the Railway Safety Act. It’s that simple,” said Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. “Yes, it may make rail transportation a little bit more expensive, but it’s going to make rail transportation a little bit more expensive in the service of safety.”

There has been much bipartisan wrangling to pull together this bill. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., joined Vance in voting for the bill in committee. East Palestine was only one in a series of railroad failures that brought to light the need for stronger safety measures for the industry.

But Cruz has been taught he will be rewarded if he reframes every part of the legislative process into an us-versus-them battle. While it is up to Texas voters to show him how very wrong he is, other Republicans in the Senate must ignore the nonsense.

Improved rail safety regulations are necessary. No amount of money tossed into a bank account to backstop falling property values changes that. Senators must not allow Cruz’s political theatrics to stop the momentum of legislation that is about something much more important than money.

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