{"id":1020924,"date":"2023-03-09T18:22:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T18:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2023\/03\/john-thune-rail-lobbyist-safety-east-palestine\/"},"modified":"2023-03-10T12:06:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T12:06:57","slug":"rail-lobbyist-turned-senator-john-thune-is-set-to-block-new-railroad-safety-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/03\/09\/rail-lobbyist-turned-senator-john-thune-is-set-to-block-new-railroad-safety-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"Rail-Lobbyist-Turned-Senator John Thune Is Set to Block New Railroad Safety Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n\n\n\n

Sen. John Thune, a former railroad lobbyist, is positioning himself to help kill rail safety legislation meant to prevent disasters like the recent East Palestine derailment. It\u2019s one of many examples of the rail industry\u2019s \u201crevolving door\u201d in Washington, DC.<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n \n
\n Former railroad lobbyist Sen. John Thune is once again going to bat for the industry, positioning himself as a key obstacle to the most substantial rail safety initiative considered by Congress in years. (Senator John Thune \/ Twitter)\n <\/figcaption> \n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n \n

In 2004, a registered lobbyist for a railroad corporation got himself elected to the US Senate, and then he promptly helped his former client become eligible for billions in cheap federal loans in the wake of the company\u2019s hazmat train derailment<\/a>. The same Republican lawmaker later\u00a0spearheaded<\/a>\u00a0the effort to repeal a major rail safety rule while becoming\u00a0one of<\/a> the Senate\u2019s top recipients of campaign cash from the industry.<\/p>\n

Now, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is once again going to bat for the industry, positioning himself as a key obstacle to the most substantial rail safety initiative considered by Congress in years.<\/p>\n

Thune, the second-highest-ranking Republican in the upper chamber, has been critical of the bipartisan push for quick and expansive legislation in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment that has rocked national politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll take a look at what\u2019s being proposed, but an immediate quick response heavy on regulation needs to be thoughtful and targeted,\u201d Thune told the Hill<\/em><\/a>, echoing his earlier comments to\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0insisting that lawmakers should wait to \u201cget the facts, and then figure out what, if anything, needs to be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thune\u2019s efforts to slow the measure are being boosted by the rail industry\u2019s advocacy group, which previously gave him an award when he helped kill a train brake rule, and which now employs his former legislative staffer as its\u00a0top lobbyist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thune embodies the railroad industry\u2019s power in Washington, which extends beyond the Senate.<\/p>\n

In the House, the new Republican chairman of the transportation committee is the chamber\u2019s top recipient of the industry\u2019s campaign cash. The industry also\u00a0employs more than<\/a> two hundred lobbyists who have previously served in the federal government. Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern\u2019s general counsel \u2014 who has pressed for federal safety waivers \u2014 is a former executive director of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is currently investigating the company.<\/p>\n

All of that influence is bolstered by the\u00a0rail industry\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0PR operation<\/a>\u00a0to fight regulations, as well as\u00a0$14 million<\/a>\u00a0in federal campaign donations in the past two election cycles.<\/p>\n

With Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw set to testify before a Senate committee Thursday, here is a review of the biggest obstacles to a congressional and regulatory crackdown on the rail industry\u2019s safety practices.<\/p>\n\n \n\n \n \n \n

A Landmark Initiative, but One With Loopholes<\/h2>\n \n

Last week, a bipartisan group of US senators proposed the Railway Safety Act, which limits train lengths, requires two-person crews on freight trains, strengthens transparency requirements for hazmat trains, sets standards for infrastructure maintenance, and increases the maximum fines for safety violations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an unusual piece of federal legislation because it is opposed by a major industry but still has some chance of passing a divided Congress with bipartisan support.<\/p>\n

On the Senate side, at least three Republicans are backing the legislation \u2014 senators Josh Hawley (MO), Marco Rubio (FL), and J. D. Vance (OH) \u2014 suggesting that it may be able to reach the nine Republican votes needed to overcome a filibuster, assuming all fifty-one Senate Democrats support it.<\/p>\n

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pledged last week that he would move quickly on the legislation, saying that the bill was<\/a>\u00a0\u201cprecisely the kind of proposal we need to see in Congress\u201c and that he would do \u201cwhatever I can<\/a>\u201d to pass the bill.<\/p>\n

Still, major rail unions are pushing for a stronger bill, warning that in its current form, the legislation grants broad discretion to the transportation secretary to write safety rules, rather than spelling out regulatory specifics.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can run a freight train through the loopholes,\u201d\u00a0said Eddie Hall<\/a>, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the largest rail union, about the bill\u2019s two-person crew provision.<\/p>\n

For years, rail unions have been pushing back against the\u00a0industry\u2019s desire<\/a>\u00a0to run trains with one-man crews. While the legislation requires two-person crews on many freight trains, it includes carve-outs for short-distance trains as well as the potential for waivers.<\/p>\n

A two-person crew rule\u00a0proposed<\/a>\u00a0last year by Secretary Pete Buttigieg\u2019s Department of Transportation would similarly allow railroads to seek exemptions.<\/p>\n\n \n \n \n

The Lobbyist in Senator\u2019s Clothing<\/h2>\n \n

Even in its current form, the proposed Railway Safety Act will have to overcome significant legislative obstacles. Thune, in particular, could pose a problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll take a look at what\u2019s being proposed, but an immediate quick response heavy on regulation needs to be thoughtful and targeted,\u201d Thune told the Hill<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on Monday.<\/p>\n

Thune sits on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and is the second-most-senior Republican after Texas senator Ted Cruz. (Cruz has said he supports<\/a>\u00a0\u201ccongressional inquiry\u201d into the East Palestine derailment but has not commented on the legislation.)<\/p>\n

Thune served as the railroad director of South Dakota from 1991 to 1993, before getting elected to Congress. For some of his time in the House, Thune sat<\/a>\u00a0on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.<\/p>\n

He retired in 2003 after a failed Senate run and quickly became a lobbyist<\/a>\u00a0for the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern (DM&E) Railroad, which he had previously regulated as a state official. He continued\u00a0lobbying<\/a>\u00a0for the company \u2014 which is now a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway \u2014 during his successful Senate campaign in 2004.<\/p>\n

As part of his advocacy work for the railroad, Thune\u00a0helped the company procure<\/a>\u00a0a $230 million loan from the Federal Railroad Administration. Upon joining the Senate in 2005, Thune attempted to help the company obtain a $2.3 billion federal loan it was seeking to expand coal freight operations.<\/p>\n

That year, Thune convinced his colleagues to expand the loan pool for railroads from $3.5 billion to $35 billion \u2014 and increase the pool for small railroads from $1 billion to $7 billion \u2014 making his former client far more likely to win its loan.<\/p>\n

The Thune provision allows the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad and the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad to apply for a loan package totaling $2.5 billion to build or rehabilitate over 1,300 miles of rail, the majority of which would be spent in South Dakota,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

his office said in a press release<\/a>\u00a0after the bill passed. \u201cIf approved, the loan would finance South Dakota’s largest railroad infrastructure program.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fellow senator called<\/a>\u00a0Thune\u2019s loan pool expansion \u201cthe most despicable special-interest deal I\u2019ve ever seen in all my 30 years in government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Thune\u2019s former client\u00a0was rejected<\/a>\u00a0for the loan, after intense scrutiny of Thune\u2019s\u00a0lobbying background<\/a>\u00a0for the railroad company\u00a0and opposition<\/a>\u00a0from a<\/a>\u00a0hospital along<\/a>\u00a0the proposed route due to DM&E\u2019s\u00a0record<\/a> of hazmat train derailments. Had DM&E obtained the loan, it would have been the largest private loan guarantee in US history.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Thune reprised his advocacy for the rail industry, leading an\u00a0effort<\/a>\u00a0to repeal an Obama administration<\/a>\u00a0regulation requiring improved, electronic braking systems on some hazmat trains. The following year, he\u00a0received<\/a>\u00a0the first-ever \u201cRailroad Achievement Award\u201d presented by the Association of American Railroads, the industry\u2019s main lobbying group.<\/p>\n

Thune is the third-largest recipient of cash from the railroad industry in the Senate and raked in<\/a>\u00a0nearly $70,000 in the past election cycle alone.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, minority leader Mitch McConnell (KY), has not said<\/a> whether he will back the legislation. McConnell\u2019s wife, Elaine Chao, served as transportation secretary during the Trump administration and repealed numerous rail safety<\/a>\u00a0rules.<\/p>\n\n \n \n \n

House Chairman Is Top Recipient of Rail Industry Cash<\/h2>\n \n

Even if the Railway Safety Act makes its way through the Senate, there are also substantial barriers to passage in the House, where Republicans hold a majority and have been raking in railroad cash.<\/p>\n

The legislation could face its first major roadblock in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Chairman Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) was the top recipient of railroad industry campaign cash<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Congress<\/a> last election cycle and has been a longtime enemy of efforts to regulate his donors.<\/p>\n

Graves has held his solidly red seat since 2001, and he easily won his most recent election last fall\u00a0with 70 percent<\/a>\u00a0of the vote. Even so, the railroad executives and their political action committees\u00a0poured $107,000<\/a>\u00a0into his campaign coffers last cycle.<\/p>\n

In July 2021, Graves\u00a0sent a letter<\/a>\u00a0to the Surface Transportation Board \u2014 the other federal agency that regulates railroads \u2014 warning that Biden\u2019s recent\u00a0executive order<\/a>\u00a0calling for a \u201cwhole-of-government approach\u201d to address antitrust issues could \u201cdecrease the freight railroads\u2019 efficiency or limit their ability to reinvest in their infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking\u00a0on Fox News<\/a>\u00a0about the East Palestine derailment on February 16, Graves noted that the federal government\u2019s \u201caccident investigation continues, so instead of speculating about all the potential factors, I want to fully understand the facts involved. When we have the facts, Congress can consider what next steps may be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rail Safety Act could also run into trouble in the House Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. Subcommittee chair Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), told Politico<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>about the proposed legislation,\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThe rail industry has a very high success rate of moving hazardous material \u2014 to the point of 99-percent-plus. Let\u2019s not have more burdensome regulations and all this other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \n \n \n

A $54 Million Lobbying War Chest<\/h2>\n \n

Nehls’s defense of the rail industry was a near word-for-word recitation of rhetoric from the railroad industry\u2019s lobbying group, the Association of American Railroads, which has been touting its \u201c99.9 percent\u201d success rate in the wake of the East Palestine derailment, including in recent\u00a0Politico<\/em>\u00a0advertisements<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Association of American Railroads\u00a0brought in $55 million<\/a>\u00a0in revenue in 2020, according to the group\u2019s most recent tax filings, the majority of which came from membership dues. Members include the major class I freight railroads, some smaller railroads, and Amtrak.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the new Senate rail legislation, the Association of American Railroads\u00a0has similarly argued<\/a>\u00a0that policymakers should wait to issue new safety rules until the government has completed its investigation into the East Palestine derailment.<\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s\u00a0top lobbyist<\/a>\u00a0is a\u00a0former staffer<\/a> for Thune, and its\u00a0president and CEO<\/a>\u00a0was previously a staffer on the Senate Transportation Committee.<\/p>\n

There are currently 265 people registered to lobby the federal government on behalf of the railroad industry, 208 of whom previously held jobs in the federal government\u00a0according to data<\/a>\u00a0from OpenSecrets. The rail industry as a whole\u00a0spent $25 million<\/a>\u00a0directly lobbying the federal government in 2022.<\/p>\n\n \n \n \n

Norfolk Southern Employs a Former NTSB Official<\/h2>\n \n

Railroads like Norfolk Southern have one other way to potentially avoid new safety crackdowns: by being granted regulatory waivers.<\/p>\n

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)\u00a0has authority<\/a>\u00a0to allow rail companies to bypass any safety rule, regulation, or order \u201cupon a finding that doing so is \u2018in the public interest and consistent with railroad safety.\u2019\u201d The Senate legislation\u2019s two-person crew provision explicitly gives the Transportation Secretary the authority to grant such waivers for trains to operate with fewer than two people.<\/p>\n

Norfolk Southern\u2019s current point person for requesting waivers from safety rules and regulations is especially well positioned for the role, since he was formerly acting executive director and managing director of the NTSB.<\/p>\n

Thomas Zoeller, Norfolk Southern\u2019s current general counsel for markets and regulation, served in executive roles including acting executive director of the NTSB when the board recommended that the Obama administration expand the definition of high-hazard flammable trains (HHFT) to include flammable gases like those on board the train that derailed in East Palestine.<\/p>\n

Before heading Norfolk Southern\u2019s legal department, he made a brief stop at the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, where he was senior policy advisor and acting general counsel, according to his LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0Profile.<\/p>\n

In his capacity at Norfolk Southern, Zoeller sought a waiver in March 2021 to exempt Norfolk Southern from manual track geometry inspection requirements, insisting an automated inspection system was sufficient. Automated track inspections is something the Association of American Railroads, the top lobbying group<\/a>\u00a0for rail companies,\u00a0has been pushing for<\/a> as it expedites the required inspection process and ultimately reduces staffing demand.<\/p>\n

The FRA denied the request<\/a>, citing the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division\/IBT (BMWED), which argued that if the waiver was granted it would \u201cadversely affect railroad safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zoeller\u2019s transition from the public sector to private industry is one of many examples of regulators going through the revolving door to corporations they formerly helped regulate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntimate knowledge of bureaucratic intricacies includes knowing how to exploit the process,\u201d said Dylan Gyauch-Lewis, a researcher with the Revolving Door Project. \u201cFormer regulators know the chokepoints in the regulatory process and seek to use those bottlenecks to block or delay regulation,\u201d he told us.<\/p>\n

That makes Zoeller well positioned to help his rail employer skirt potential safety rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cZoeller, coming from the NTSB, will know exactly how to skirt the boundaries of laws and regulations and can leverage his personal ties to regulators to try and get Norfolk Southern out of trouble,\u201d Gyauch-Lewis said.<\/p>\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n

You can subscribe to David Sirota\u2019s investigative journalism project, the\u00a0Lever<\/i>,\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post was originally published on Jacobin<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2004, a registered lobbyist for a railroad corporation got himself elected to the US Senate, and then he promptly helped his former client become eligible for billions in cheap federal loans in the wake of the company\u2019s hazmat train derailment. The same Republican lawmaker later\u00a0spearheaded\u00a0the effort to repeal a major rail safety rule while [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1641,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1641"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1020924"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1020925,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020924\/revisions\/1020925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1020924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1020924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1020924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}