The Biden administration has been slow to react to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and should be on site to help the residents recover, Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., said Friday on Newsmax.
Transportation "Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg was slow to respond to this and in fact we still have lots of toxic chemicals in east Palestine because even though Norfolk Southern has dug it up they're still waiting to get the license to be able to find a place to dispose it and that's all on the EPA," Ricketts said Friday during an appearance on "National Report" following a powerful Senate panel hearing on the incident where lawmakers heard from Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw and Ohio and Pennsylvania senators whose constituents have been affected.
"The state of Ohio has been very responsive — their environmental regulator has been on the ground something like 25 out of the last 30 days to be able to help recover — and what we need to do is look at the cause of this," added Ricketts.
"There's obviously a report being done on it, and I think there are going to be things that we can do to improve rail safety and [Sen.] J.D. Vance is taking the lead on this. [But] President Biden has not been there yet, and this is just typical of President Biden where he has been slow to respond. Sen. Lindsey Graham yesterday said President Biden should take Shaw to the site and talk to the residents there and hear directly for himself how we can help the people of East Palestine recover."
Shaw on Thursday during the hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee began his testimony with an apology to the individuals and communities hurt by the derailment. He also said Norfolk Southern will work to help East Palestine recover.
Ricketts says more needs to be done "with regard to how Norfolk Southern is working with the people of East Palestine.
Shaw "talked about setting up a website. The CEO had been there but I think that there's more that we can do to make sure people are comfortable with what's going on and feel good about the response. It was one of the consistent themes we heard is that the people of East Palestine didn't believe that the air was safe, that the water is safe, and there's gotta be something that is done to reassure those folks."
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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