The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday added a Trump-pushed rail safety bill to a major transportation package, in a move that divided Republicans and inflamed ideological tensions within the party.
The Railway Safety Act amendment, brought by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), was approved in a 54-11 vote, with 10 Republicans and one independent — including the committee chair, Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) — voting against it.
The measure would codify a requirement for at least two people to operate a train, remove time limits on inspections, and increase requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials, among other provisions. It was championed by Vice President Vance when he was an Ohio senator after the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment that led to the release of hazardous chemicals.
The White House had long pushed to add the rail measures to the surface transportation reauthorization package. But the text of the bipartisan five-year reauthorization bill released over the weekend, dubbed the BUILD America 250 Act, did not include the rail measures.
President Trump and White House allies got more vocal in pushing for the bill this week, releasing statements explicitly supporting the rail measure. Trump posted on Truth Social that he was asking Republicans to vote yes on the amendment in the markup meeting, and the White House put out an official statement of administration policy supporting the amendment.
What the Left Is Saying
Union groups and populist-aligned lawmakers who support the bill argue it addresses a systemic safety problem that market forces alone cannot fix.
There are more than 1,000 train derailments in this country each year, many of them involving hazardous materials, a coalition of conservative leaders wrote in a letter to lawmakers. Such a systemic issue indicates a market failure in the hazardous materials transportation regime — one that needs to be corrected as soon as possible.
Rep. Troy Nehls displayed a poster of Trump's Truth Social post calling for passage of the amendment as he introduced it. Our committee has an opportunity today to deliver on President Trump's call for stronger rail safety protections and to ensure that the tragedy we witnessed happened in East Palestine, Ohio, never happens again, Nehls said.
Supporters say the two-person crew requirement addresses safety concerns that emerged from the East Palestine derailment, which the National Transportation Safety Board linked to a defective wheel bearing. They argue that federal mandates are necessary because railroads have not voluntarily adopted stronger safety standards.
What the Right Is Saying
Anti-regulation conservatives and industry groups argued that there is little evidence new requirements would improve safety outcomes, and they pointed out that much of the bill had nothing to do with the defective wheel bearing issue that the NTSB said led to the East Palestine derailment. They argue the new regulations would increase operating expenses, translating to higher prices for consumers.
Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ian Jeffries released a statement after the vote lamenting the provisions that were added to the bill. Freight railroads have been clear from the beginning of the surface transportation reauthorization process: rail policy provisions should be targeted, justified by data, and tied to clearly demonstrated operational or safety needs, Jeffries said.
Committee Chair Rep. Sam Graves voiced opposition to the rail measure. This amendment and much of the underlying bill that it's based on isn't about railroad safety, Graves said. Many pieces of the amendment that we are considering today would have had absolutely no impact on that accident.
Americans for Tax Reform launched a $1 million ad campaign against including the Railway Safety Act in the reauthorization bill. Industry groups say the regulations would harm rail customers, manufacturers, energy producers, farmers and American consumers already facing significant affordability pressures.
What the Numbers Show
The amendment passed with a 54-11 vote, meaning it had bipartisan support despite Republican divisions.
10 Republicans voted against the measure along with one independent and the committee chair, Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.).
The BUILD America 250 Act is a five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill meant to fund roads, bridges, and related infrastructure through 2030.
More than 1,000 train derailments occur in the United States each year, according to data cited by supporters of the bill. Many involve hazardous materials.
Americans for Tax Reform's ad campaign against the rail provisions is valued at $1 million, according to Punchbowl News reporting.
The National Transportation Safety Board linked the East Palestine derailment to a defective wheel bearing on a freight car, a cause that some Republicans argue would not have been addressed by the two-person crew requirement or other provisions in the Railway Safety Act.
The Bottom Line
The addition of the rail safety amendment sets up a potential showdown as the full House considers the transportation package. The measure has presidential backing but faces resistance from free-market conservatives and industry groups who say it lacks evidence-based justification for its specific mandates.
What happens next: The BUILD America 250 Act must still pass the full House and then negotiate with the Senate, where rail safety provisions may be adjusted or removed entirely. Association of American Railroads said it will be a long legislative process to get the final reauthorization bill over the finish line.
Industry groups have signaled they will continue lobbying against provisions they consider unnecessary mandates, while populist Republicans aligned with Vance are expected to push for keeping the rail measures in any final package.