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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMATTHEW CUNNINGHAM-COOK<\/strong><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n JULIA ROCK<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A black plume from controlled detonation of chemicals on a derailed Norfolk Southern train rises over East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo\/Gene J. Puskar)SHARE<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The company that manufactured the toxic chemicals that were released and incinerated in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment this winter gave $2 million to the primary Senate GOP super PAC as bipartisan rail safety legislation stalled in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The manufacturer, Occidental Petroleum, has been lobbying on rail and tank car safety, and its lobbying group, the American Chemistry Council \u2014 which also donated $250,000 to the main House GOP super PAC \u2014 had pushed for changes weakening the bill in committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The railroad legislation, introduced in the immediate aftermath of the East Palestine disaster, was once seen as the first real shot at imposing new regulations on the railroad industry in years. Now, on the six-month anniversary<\/a> of the toxic accident, even what\u2019s left of the watered-down bill<\/a> doesn\u2019t appear to have the Republican votes necessary to pass in the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We’re building a reader-supported investigative news outlet that holds accountable the people and corporations manipulating the levers of power. Join our fight by becoming a free subscriber today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subscribe Now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n On May 10, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) proposed comprehensive amendments to the rail safety legislation, which Vance had originally co-authored. One of the amendments delayed by three years the requirement that shippers replace old tank cars that are vulnerable to punctures with upgraded cars, as The Lever<\/em> previously<\/a> reported. Federal regulators had recommended the 2025 deadline included in the original bill, but chemical and rail supply industry lobbyists pushed for a delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Occidental donated $2 million in June to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for Senate Republicans, three weeks after the railroad bill was weakened in committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Senate Leadership Fund spent $32 million<\/a> to help elect Vance last fall. During the 2022 election cycle, Occidental funneled $5.5 million to the committee, making<\/a> it the super PAC\u2019s largest corporate donor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lobbying group for Occidental and other oil and chemical producers, which see nearly one million tons of their products transported across the country by trains each year, pushed back against the deadline for new, safer tank cars because it said the cost of doing so \u201cwould pose significant burdens\u201d on manufacturers, shippers, and consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, Politico<\/em> reported that the rail safety bill, authored by Vance and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), likely will not<\/a> secure the Republican support it needs to reach 60 votes and pass the Senate. The Senate\u2019s second-highest-ranking Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, is a former rail industry lobbyist<\/a> who has been fighting the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance and Brown introduced the Railway Safety Act one month after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, leaving the small town temporarily enveloped in toxic chemicals that were released and burned off the train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the fact that the train was carrying flammable and carcinogenic vinyl chloride and other hazardous materials, it was not subject to the more stringent regulations that cover \u201chigh-hazard flammable trains,\u201d following rail and chemical industry lobbying<\/a> on 2015 safety rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The original Railway Safety Act directed the transportation secretary to expand the definition of high-hazard flammable trains and issue regulations for wayside defect detectors, devices placed along tracks that catch technical problems. It also required a minimum of two crew members on most freight trains and increased the maximum fines that the Department of Transportation can impose for safety violations, among other provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip Jar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In May, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the Vance-Cantwell amendment, which \u2014 in addition to delaying the tank car upgrade from the original bill \u2014 stripped requirements that the Department of Transportation issue rules for hazmat trains to<\/a> \u201creduce or eliminate blocked crossings\u201d and issue rules limiting<\/a> train length and weight, weakened the requirement for wayside defect detectors, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry lobbying group of which Occidental is<\/a> a member<\/a>, pushed for<\/a> the changes. In June, the American Chemistry Council donated $250,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC that backs GOP House candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another industry group, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which counts an Occidental executive on its board of directors, had recommended delaying the tank car upgrade deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExpediting the current phase out of the tank car fleet, as the Railway Safety Act of 2023 proposes, would not have prevented the East Palestine derailment,\u201d wrote American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Vice President Rob Benedict in a March 29 letter<\/a> to the Senate Transportation Committee. \u201cThis policy change would pose significant burdens on shippers and consumers and threaten refiners, petrochemical manufacturers, and ultimately consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The policy change would have sped up the adoption of newer, safer tank cars, called DOT-117s. In March, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration called<\/a> on \u201ctank car owners and shippers of flammable liquids to voluntarily upgrade their tank car fleets to the newest, and safest, available tank car design authorized for flammable liquid service \u2014 the DOT-117 specification tank car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n None<\/a> of the five potentially compromised tank cars in the East Palestine derailment that were part of the controlled chemical release met the DOT-117 classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Occidental has spent $5.9 million on lobbying so far this year, including on rail safety and tank car safety, according to federal<\/a> records<\/a> reviewed by The Lever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Billionaire investor Warren Buffett\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns<\/a> more than 25 percent of Occidental, making it the firm\u2019s largest shareholder. Berkshire Hathaway also wholly owns the nation\u2019s largest railroad, BNSF Railway. BNSF has been<\/a> lobbying<\/a> on the Railway Safety Act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AUG 3, 2023 (levernews.com) The oil company whose vinyl chloride poisoned East Palestine gave $2 million to the Senate GOP as lawmakers watered down and stalled proposed reforms. MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM-COOK JULIA ROCK A black plume from controlled detonation of chemicals on a derailed Norfolk Southern train rises over East Palestine,… Continue reading ![\"Julia](\"https:\/\/www.levernews.com\/content\/images\/size\/w30\/2023\/07\/500x500_Julia_sq.jpg\")
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\u201cThis Policy Change Would Pose Significant Burdens\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n