Like my mom used to say: “One hand washes the other.”
On the record this is being reported:
By Ian Duncan, Luz Lazo and Michael Laris
February 18, 2023
… according to a memo drafted later by a Transportation Department lawyer: It was an opportunity for Norfolk Southern to raise concerns about a proposed federal rule that would require trains, in most cases, to have two crew members. …
… The meeting illustrates the two faces of Norfolk Southern and the railroad industry at large. It presents itself as a backbone of the nation’s economy — a safe and relatively green way to transport freight. At the same time, labor leaders and federal officials say, it aggressively resists proposed regulation by Washington, opposing new safety standards while searching for loopholes through existing rules.
… Norfolk Southern, the nation’s fourth-largest railroad with a record $12.7 billion in revenue last year, is now on the defensive, tied to images of black plumes of burning vinyl chloride over East Palestine, where a 149-car train derailed Feb 3. As the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the cause of the derailment …
… Railroads spend heavily while lobbying in Washington, according to records analyzed by the transparency organization Open Secrets. Norfolk Southern is among the biggest spenders, paying $1.8 million last year for the services of 36 lobbyists. …
The general disregard for consequences and accepting responsibility seems universal and for me, incomprehensible.
Lee Fang - February 21 2023
… IN A SPIRITED exchange nearly eight years ago, Sen. John Thune scoffed at his committee colleagues when they raised concerns that legislation he sponsored would add years of delay for train safety regulations. …
… Thune voted down a Democratic amendment to nix the delay before moving to a full committee vote. His Senate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. …
… Thune’s legislation was part of an industry push to kill the ECP mandate, review of lobbying, congressional, and court records show. Around the same time as he advanced delaying provisions in omnibus transportation legislation, Thune also introduced another bill to entirely eliminate the mandate for implementation of ECP. …
Where to lay blame? I’d suggest the entire industrial, corporate, political, mindset, that makes safety and health standards some sort of demon-enemy to destroy.