I urge the Senate and House to swiftly act to improve the safety, the safety of our railroads.

It shouldn't take a train derailment for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we serve--not corporations like Norfolk Southern.

The most outrageous and the most ridiculous thing that I have heard from industry groups and other activists in response to this bill is that it is somehow a kind of Bolshevism to require the railways to engage in proper safety standards.

We can--and we must--have strong businesses. But that doesn't mean businesses should be allowed to reject common sense safety regulations.

Both Europe and Japan move more trains over more miles of track than the United States. They have many fewer derailments.

It's time to collectively learn from this and move forward with bipartisan support and the support of Norfolk Southern.

I don't think we should be mandating 20-minute inspections.

I will point out that 9 years ago we made a recommendation from the NTSB that they should provide proper notification to first responders.

I urge the Senate and House to swiftly act to improve the safety, the safety of our railroads.

It shouldn't take a train derailment for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we serve--not corporations like Norfolk Southern.

We ask you to support basic safety regulations so this doesn't happen again.