In the wake of the February train derailment that released toxic chemicals in their state, Sens. J.D. Vance (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) have been atypically united in their push to pass legislation bolstering railroad safety and to ensure residents are not forgotten.
The two introduced the Rail Safety Act with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Pennsylvania Sens. John Fetterman (D) and Bob Casey (D), which would impose a number of safety standards.
Vance told The Hill his collaboration with Brown on the rail safety bill shouldn’t necessarily be taken as a signal of deeper bipartisan cooperation.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s a model for any particular issue [but] I think that East Palestine was an issue I cared a lot about, an issue where there was some common ground with Senator Brown,” he said.
Vance signaled, however, that he would be open to working across the aisle on other issues in the future: “I don’t know that it’s a model, [but] I certainly want to get more things done, so I hope so.”
Brown, who faces reelection next year, also told The Hill he has reached across the aisle to work with Republicans on a number of issues.
Read the full story tomorrow at TheHill.com.
