国会中的民主党人提议为当地急救人员提供额外的援助在正在进行的谈话中关于铁路安全二月份俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦的火车出轨事件。

自2月3日脱轨事件以来，华盛顿的立法者一直关注州和联邦政府对有毒化学品泄漏的反应，这些化学品污染了东巴勒斯坦和邻近的宾夕法尼亚州达林顿的土壤和水。现在，宾夕法尼亚州民主党参议员鲍勃·凯西(Bob Casey)正在引入一项立法，该立法将为当地紧急救援人员提供额外的资源，以应对未来类似的事件。

根据美国交通部的数据，从2005年到2021年，平均每年有1475起火车出轨事件。消防员、警察和其他处理危险物质的当地机构往往是第一个到达危险脱轨现场的人，甚至在州和联邦小组部署之前。

凯西的法案将于周四提出，将建立一个新的基金，用于补偿紧急救援人员在应对他们社区的火车出轨事件时发生的费用。

该基金将由联邦铁路管理局管理，由运输危险材料的托运人和承运人支付。

来自受东巴勒斯坦出轨事件影响最大的州的民主党参议员共同发起了这项立法:俄亥俄州的谢罗德·布朗和宾夕法尼亚州的约翰·费特曼。

凯西在一份声明中说:“那些冒着生命危险保护宾夕法尼亚州和俄亥俄州免受南诺福克灾难影响的第一批响应者是英雄，他们值得我们更多的感谢。”指的是运营火车的公司上个月出轨了。

凯西说:“火车危机期间援助当地英雄法案将帮助我们的社区更好地为未来的出轨做准备，并支付损坏设备的费用、加班费等——所有费用都由运输这些材料的公司支付。”“与《铁路安全法》一起，这项立法将有助于保护我们的社区免受危险的火车出轨事故的影响，并让铁路公司对这些危机造成的损失负责。”

2023年2月3日，参议员鲍勃·凯西在宾夕法尼亚州费城访问期间，在贝尔蒙特水处理中心发表讲话。

伊丽莎白·弗兰茨/路透社，档案

在东巴勒斯坦出轨事件发生后，俄亥俄州州长迈克·德温强调需要增加对急救人员的培训。本月早些时候，他宣布他已经与诺福克南方铁路公司和CSX铁路公司的首席执行官就这些额外资源进行了交谈。

凯西说，他在宾夕法尼亚州也发现了类似的需求。

作为回应，南诺福克同意在东巴勒斯坦附近建立一个新的急救培训中心，第一次会议将于周二在贝尔维尤开始。培训将侧重于准备和应对涉及危险材料的铁路事故。

该公司表示，他们还向东巴勒斯坦消防局(East Palestine Fire Department)偿还并承诺了300多万美元，用于脱轨反应中使用的设备，包括22万美元用于更换自给式呼吸器空气包，这种空气包允许消防员在应对火灾时呼吸压缩空气。

“东巴勒斯坦的脱轨事件清楚地表明，确保第一反应人员为涉及危险材料的灾难做好准备对社区的安全至关重要，”DeWine上周在一份声明中说。“急救人员通常是志愿者，他们需要最新的培训和设备。在最近的出轨事件后，诺福克南方公司今天的承诺是该公司承诺让俄亥俄州和东巴勒斯坦公民完整的重要下一步，俄亥俄州将继续密切关注这一承诺。”

凯西的法案走得更远，创建了一个基金来预测未来的挑战。此时，国会仍在讨论是否以及如何监管铁路。

凯西，布朗和费特曼，以及俄亥俄州共和党参议员JD万斯，已经提出了一个更大的铁路改革法案，铁路安全法，应对东巴勒斯坦脱轨事件。

该提案得到了两党的共同支持，包括密苏里州和佛罗里达州的共和党参议员乔希·霍利和马尔科·卢比奥。它将加强对运载有害物质的火车的安全预防措施，包括要求每10英里对运载有害物质的火车车轮进行热扫描;要求所有列车上有两人乘务组;增加美国运输部对违反规定的公司的罚款。

《铁路安全法》还将实施新的条款，要求承运人向州应急响应官员提供关于他们运输的货物的事先通知和信息。

凯西在周四介绍的立法将要求当地官员，如消防部门和其他应急响应者，在火车通过他们的社区运送危险物质时保持在循环中。

凯西的办公室指出，当地紧急救援人员和消防队员通常是“公共安全的第一道防线”

凯西说，他们有时“对泄漏或着火的东西了解有限”，即使如此，“帮助疏散居民，灭火，封闭道路，并执行其他紧急任务以减轻灾难”，这些工作“很快就会超过当地第一反应组织的预算，特别是如果他们需要支付工人加班费，更换损坏的设备，或购买物资”，特别是对于这些铁路经常经过的更小、更农村的城镇。

凯西说:“对危险的列车脱轨做出反应的急救人员不仅仅应该得到我们的感谢。”

然而，还有待观察的是，是否会有必要的共和党支持，以推动颁布凯西的法案，重点是第一反应者。

东巴勒斯坦出轨事件激发了该地区政治家们不同寻常的两党合作，他们承认出轨给村庄带来的创伤-迫切需要改善铁路行业的系统安全。

尽管如此，对铁路行业实施新的联邦级规则的更大努力一直难以获得国会所有共和党人的支持，他们担心过早地监管私营行业。

众议院的保守派认为改革立法过于严格，而共和党中的一些人也表示，他们希望在批准立法之前看到国家运输安全委员会关于脱轨的最终报告。这份报告可能需要一年多的时间才能完成。

多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)发誓要与立法提案人合作，将《铁路安全法》搬上台面。凯西的新立法可能会成为讨论的一部分。

但是没有60票，该法案不会在参议院通过。这导致新法规的支持者变得焦躁不安。

霍利周三说:“我告诉你我会对铁路法案做什么:我会去议会，让参议员们每天都投票表决，直到取得一些进展。”“这里的策略...铁路游说者和他们的盟友的建议是拖延，拖延，拖延，直到公众压力似乎已经冷却下来。与此同时，随着这些事故的继续，东巴勒斯坦人民和其他人将不会得到任何缓解。”

Senate Democrats propose first responders' aid fund for train derailments

Democrats in Congress are proposing additional aid for local first respondersamid the ongoing conversationconcerning rail safety in the wake ofthe February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

In the time since the Feb. 3 derailment, lawmakers in Washington have focused on the state and federal response to the spilling of toxic chemicals that contaminated soil and water in East Palestine and neighboring Darlington, Pennsylvania. Now, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is introducing legislation that would give local emergency workers additional resources to deal with similar incidents in the future.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation data, there have been an average of 1,475 train derailments per year from 2005-2021. Firefighters, police and other local agencies that deal with hazardous material are often the first to arrive on the scene of hazardous derailments, even before state and federal teams can be deployed.

Casey's bill, set to be introduced Thursday, would create a new fund which would be used to reimburse emergency responders for costs incurred when responding to a train derailment in their communities.

That fund, which would be managed by the Federal Railroad Administration, would be paid into by shippers and carriers moving hazardous material.

Democratic senators from the states most affected by the East Palestine derailment are co-sponsoring the legislation: Sherrod Brown of Ohio and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

"The first responders who risked their lives and wellbeing to protect Pennsylvania and Ohio from Norfolk Southern's disaster are heroes who deserve much more than our gratitude," Casey said in a statement,referring to the company operating the trainthat derailed last month.

"The Assistance for Local Heroes During Train Crises Act will help our communities better prepare for future derailments and cover the cost of damaged equipment, overtime pay, and more—all paid for by the companies that ship and carry these materials," Casey said. "Along with the Railway Safety Act, this legislation will help keep our communities safe from hazardous train derailments and hold railroads accountable for the damage these crises inflict."

In the aftermath of the East Palestine derailment, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has emphasized the need for increased response training for first responders. Earlier this month, he announced he had spoken with the CEOs of both Norfolk Southern and CSX rails about those additional resources.

Casey said he identified similar needs in Pennsylvania.

In response, Norfolk Southern agreed to create a new first responder training center near East Palestine, with the first sessions set to begin Tuesday in Bellevue. Trainings will focus on preparing for and responding to rail incidents involving hazardous materials.

The company says they have also reimbursed and committed more than $3 million to the East Palestine Fire Department for equipment used in the derailment response, including $220,000 to replace self-contained breathing apparatus air packs, which allow firefighters to breathe compressed air when responding to fires.

"The derailment in East Palestine made clear that ensuring first responders are prepared for disasters involving hazardous materials is vitally important to the safety of communities," DeWine said in a statement last week. "Often first responders are volunteers, and their need to have the most up-to-date training and equipment is essential. Today's commitment by Norfolk Southern is an important next step in the company's commitment to make the citizens of Ohio and of East Palestine whole after the recent derailment, a commitment Ohio will continue to monitor closely."

Casey's bill goes further, creating a fund to anticipate future challenges. It comes as Congress continues to debate whether and how to regulate railroads.

Casey, Brown and Fetterman, along with Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance,have already introduced a more expansive rail reform bill, the Railway Safety Act, in response to the East Palestine derailment.

That proposal has bipartisan co-sponsors, including Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Marco Rubio, of Missouri and Florida. It would enhance safety precautions for trains carrying hazardous material, including by requiring that wheels of trains carrying hazardous materials be scanned for heat every 10 miles; mandating a two-person crew aboard all trains; and increasing the fines that the U.S. Department of Transportation can levy against corporations for breaking rules.

The Railway Safety Act would also implement new provisions that would require carriers to provide advance notification and information to state emergency response officials about what they are transporting.

The legislation Casey is introducing on Thursday would require local officials, like fire departments and other emergency responders, to be kept in the loop when a train is moving hazardous material through their communities.

Casey's office noted local emergency responders and firefighters are often "the first line of defense for public safety."

They do so sometimes "with limited knowledge of what has been spilled or caught fire" and, even so, "help evacuate residents, fight fires, close roads, and perform other urgent tasks to mitigate disaster," Casey said -- work which can "quickly surpass the budget of local first responder organizations, especially if they need to pay workers overtime, replace damaged equipment, or purchase supplies" and especially for smaller, more rural towns through which these rails often run.

"Emergency personnel who respond to hazardous train derailments deserve more than our thanks," Casey said.

What remains to be seen, however, is whether there will be the necessary Republican support to move forward on enacting Casey's bill focused on first responders.

The East Palestine derailment inspired some unusual bipartisanship among area politicians, who acknowledgedthe trauma that derailment caused to the village-- and the urgent need for systemic safety improvements in the rail industry.

Still, larger efforts to impose new federal-level rules on the rail industry have struggled to gain steam with all Republicans in Congress, who worry about prematurely regulating a private industry.

Conservatives in the House cast the reform legislation as overly restrictive while some in the GOP have also said they want to see the National Transportation Safety Board's final report on the derailment before endorsing legislation. That report could take more than a year to be completed.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to work with the legislation's sponsors to move the Railway Safety Act onto the floor. It's possible that Casey's new legislation could be included as part of that discussion.

But without 60 votes, the legislation won't clear the Senate. That's led proponents of new regulations to grow restless.

"I tell you what I'd do on that rail bill: I'd go to the floor and I'd make senators vote on it every single day until there's some progress made," Hawley said Wednesday. "The strategy here ... from the rail lobbyist and their allies is to delay, delay, delay until public pressure appears to have cooled off. Meanwhile, the people of East Palestine and others as these accidents continue will have gotten no relief."