Residents' lives still in limbo a year after East Palestine toxic derailment
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
> Two of the biggest beneficiaries in the 2024 contests have been Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Tex.), who oversees its rail-focused subcommittee. In this cycle, Graves has received $26,000 from BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and their top trade association, while Nehls has received about $19,000. The companies donated through their political action committees to the two lawmakers as well as their leadership PACs, which enable members of Congress to write checks to their peers.
Act 1
>In the weeks after the East Palestine derailment, Graves, Nehls and other Republicans hammered the Biden administration. That March, they wrote federal regulators to raise “significant concerns” and to question “whether appropriate actions have been taken by the federal agencies to protect the community and the environment.”
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> Since then, though, the two lawmakers have refused to hold legislative hearings on the bipartisan rail safety bill, preventing it from coming to the House floor for a vote. Nehls at one point even told Politico that Congress should not impose “more burdensome regulations and all this other stuff.”
Act 3
Given the reality of the situation, they likely wouldn’t see a dime back. Something tells me they can’t afford that kind of loss.
I mean, if I was in their shoes I probably wouldn’t live there either, and would likely try and make my move permanent. But there is no evidence that there is anything being hidden, or was missed by authorities in the East Palestine area at all.