John Fetterman And JD Vance Lock Horns Over Jointly Drafted Mask Mandates And Rail Safety Bill

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) are in disagreement over the stalled railway safety bill they originally drafted together, Business Insider reported.

The Pennsylvania Democrat and Ohio Republican are the primary co-sponsors of the Railway Safety Act, a bill aiming to enhance safety procedures for trains transporting hazardous substances. The proposal was initiated in response to a catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, which led to potentially harmful chemicals being released into the atmosphere and local groundwater. The bill has been delayed since its clearance from the Senate Commerce Committee in May.

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Despite the rail bill being potentially one vote away from obtaining the required 60 votes for Senate passage, Fetterman criticized Vance for his efforts to ban mask mandates, which he is pursuing this week.

According to Fetterman, Vance’s focus on his Freedom to Breathe Act, a bill to prevent federally-imposed mask mandates on public transportation, airplanes, or public schools until the end of 2024, is “frustrating” and amounts to “silly performance art”.

Meanwhile, Vance defended his actions, stating that while he and Fetterman have been working hard on the railway bill, there are other important issues that his constituents care about. He also disputed the notion that his mask mandate efforts were merely performative, despite the return of mask mandates being limited to a scattered set of jurisdictions and organizations across the country.

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