It’s been more than seven months since a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, and President Joe Biden is still unable to visit the country even though he promised to do so. It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon either. On Sunday from Florida, Biden declared that “there’s a lot going on here and I just can’t get over it.” Even though Biden appears to have forgotten about the people of East Palestine, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) has made it his mission to ensure that they do not lose their voice.
On Monday, Vance spoke with Fox News’ Bret Baier to reaffirm his support for the people there, especially when they don’t seem to have it from the president. As Baier mentioned, not only has Biden not visited the country yet, but he has also not issued a major disaster declaration.
“I think he doesn’t see this community as the Biden community and that’s why he doesn’t do anything for it. This is disgraceful behavior. When you are president, you serve the people no matter who they voted for,” Vance noted, also recalling that “East Palestine deserves much more from its government.”
The senator did it NO beat around the bush by raising the idea that this is a political issue for Biden. “There is no way in hell that if the president of the United States saw this community as a community that supported him, saw it as fundamental to his re-election prospects, that he would ignore it the way he did,” he declared.
Meanwhile, former and potentially future President Donald Trump visited the area on February 22, a day earlier than Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg did. Trump continues to criticize Biden’s treatment of East Palestine and Maui, which the president finally visited nearly two weeks after the fires broke out.
Vance also talked about how residents fear getting infirmed if they spend too much time in the creek, which still has toxic water.
“If you go to East Palestine now, you will see these giant vats where they take toxic water from the stream bed and pour it into these vats, and hopefully over time the stream will become cleaner,” Vance explained. However, one can still hope for more. “But if you talk to residents on site, they are still concerned that if they spend too much time in the creek, they may start to experience some symptoms, dizziness or other problems.”
When Vance was given the opportunity to convey his message to the people of East Palestine, he reminded them of his commitment. “First of all, you have not been forgotten and I will never forget you. Second, keep it up because I can’t do my job, we can’t hold Norfolk Southern’s feet to the fire, and we can’t wake up Washington if we don’t hear their stories.
The documents show that Norfolk Southern tragically chose climate activism over safety, as discussed in James Taylor’s April 9 column for Townhall.
Ohio sued the company in March, with residents putting pressure on Norfolk Southern over safety concerns.
But Vance doesn’t just want to offer words of comfort to residents. He and Baier discussed the Railroad Safety Act, a bipartisan bill that He introduced March 1, together with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA)
“This would notify firefighters who handle these hazardous materials. Second, it would tighten safety inspection requirements so that train accidents would happen less frequently in the first place,” Vance explained to Baier about the bill.
WATCH: Fox @BretBaier about life in East Palestine, Ohio, over seven months since the toxic train derailment:
“President Biden has not issued a major disaster declaration or visited the site as residents wonder whether they have been forgotten.” pic.twitter.com/RiF828GE5g
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 5, 2023
It’s not just the Republican senator who points out the loss and anger these people feel. Local residents he also talked Fox News Monday with guest co-host of “FOX & Friends,” Dr. Nichole Saphier.
Giving a real-life example of the scenarios Vance mentioned above, resident Courtney Miller revealed that “I still haven’t taken my kids to East Palestine yet” because “I’m still afraid of what it will do.” In fact, most of the people she knows in the area have “fallen ill” and she has been living in a motel since the derailment. The derailment occurred again seven months ago.
“I just still don’t feel comfortable,” she said, again alluding to Biden’s absence. “And I don’t want to involve my children in something that obviously Biden doesn’t even want to show” on.
As Leah highlighted delayed last month, the slowness of the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prevented residents from returning home safely.
Biden has finally visited Hawaii, but he’s still no show for this devastated American community https://t.co/dMr7E2d2eq
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 23, 2023
