News. Top members of the House Republican leadership are concerned that the White House’s push for a rail-safety provision in the highway bill could complicate passage of the high-profile package.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will mark up the five-year reauthorization of major highway, transit and infrastructure programs today. The panel is likely to adopt an amendment to add the Rail Safety Act to the package. The measure, a priority for President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, is opposed by conservatives and the railroad industry.
The language would be a huge win for unions by mandating that two people operate freight trains. Unions have failed to secure that requirement through collective bargaining, and a Biden administration two-person crew rule is being challenged in federal court.
But top House Republicans aren’t hot on the provision.
“There’s definitely a lot of members that have expressed concern about it, so you know it’s one of a few items that makes the bill more complicated to pass,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told us Wednesday.
Asked if he personally supported the provision, Scalise said this: “I have not had a chance to read the whole thing. I’m concerned about some of the things I’ve seen.”
Speaker Mike Johnson added that he’s “heard feedback” from several members with “different perspectives on it.”
“I know it’s a big priority of the White House, so, you know, we’ll work through that, but I don’t know yet how it’s going to land,” Johnson said.
Could this provision sink the bill? Probably not. Many conservatives say it gives away too much to unions. But Trump and Vance are pushing hard for it. And the White House says they are going to keep up their campaign to have the language included in the bill. That’s usually enough to win over Republicans.
The White House sent this fact sheet to GOP lawmakers, part of their push on the amendment.
The history. Vance led a similar bill when he was in the Senate in response to the February 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, which cost more than $2 billion to clean up. GOP transportation committee leaders in both chambers were against those measures at the time.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) will offer the amendment during today’s markup, along with Democratic Reps. Dina Titus (Nev.) and Chris Deluzio (Pa.). The National Transportation Safety Board endorsed the language on Wednesday. Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.) predicted that the panel will adopt the amendment.
“It’s an amendment that divides the Republican side of the conference,” Rouzer said Wednesday. “It’s going to be a big win for labor, and that may serve as a reason for some on our side to vote no, but it’s even more of a reason for Democrats to support the package, even though there’s a lot of things in the package that many of them don’t like.”
But the railroad industry and some Republicans have been against the measure, arguing that requiring an extra crew member doesn’t necessarily boost safety. The Association of American Railroads has long fought the mandate and has urged the committee to reject Rail Safety Act amendments.
“I don’t think it gives too much to unions. The two-men work rule is the big sticking point,” Nehls said. “Not all my friends on the right side are going to agree with this, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Multiple Transportation and Infrastructure Republicans said they’re still reviewing the measure. Reps. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) and Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) both said Wednesday evening they hadn’t made decisions on how they’ll vote.
