Capito says movement on proposed Rail Safety Act of 2023 could be sooner than later

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito held her weekly briefing with a lot on the agenda.

One big focus was on the recent Senate hearings related to the East Palestine train derailment.

Capito emphasized her criticism in Norfolk Southern's response and emphasized the need for the company to make communication and safety improvements.

NEWS9S Chloe Mesogitis asked Capito her thoughts on the proposed Rail Safety Act of 2023.

CM: Going back to the Rail Safety Act, I know you were saying this might not be the (JD) Vance (Sherrod) Brown Bill. What’s the reaction been in the Senate? And how long could it be until we see this really playing out?

SMC: The bill that the senators from Ohio put forward has a lot of really good things in it, and the testimony show that there's a lot of agreement that these would make safety improvements and make derailments less occurring. So, I think those are all good.

“I think there are some other issues; it’s a very broad bill. And so, I think we need to look at the whole bill. It may be a situation where we don't take the entire bill. We take maybe three-quarters of it, which parts that would actually result in more safety and move forward with that. And I think it will be sooner than later. I don’t think this is something that is going to drag into next year or even into the fall. This is something we'll have movement on in the next several months.”