Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took aim at the bipartisan infrastructure law in the wake of a train derailment in Ohio, criticizing it for not allocating more money to rail safety.
Democrats touted the passage of the $1 trillion law in the last midterm cycle and are expected to do so once again in 2024 as the projects it’s funding get underway. President Joe Biden signed the bill, which funds everything from road and bridge repairs to high-speed internet infrastructure, into law in November 2021, marking one of the first successes of his administration.
REPUBLICANS PAN PETE BUTTIGIEG’S HANDLING OF OHIO TRAIN DISASTER
“The Democrat Infrastructure bill cost $1.2 TRILLION & only gave $5 BILLION to rail safety, but included $7.34 BILLION for transitioning electric buses & ferries & benefits China bc they control over 80% of the electric battery industry,” Greene tweeted Tuesday.
The Democrat Infrastructure bill cost $1.2 TRILLION & only gave $5 BILLION to rail safety, but included $7.34 BILLION for transitioning electric buses & ferries & benefits China bc they control over 80% of the electric battery industry.
Over $1 TRILLION went to Green New Deal 💩
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 15, 2023
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) also slammed the bill, pointing to derailments in Ohio but also Texas and elsewhere. “More than a dozen trains have derailed throughout the United States this year,” he tweeted. “So much for Joe Biden’s ‘infrastructure’ plan.”
According to the White House fact sheet on the infrastructure bill, it includes a $66 billion investment for “additional rail funding to eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor, and bring world-class rail service to areas outside the northeast and mid-Atlantic.” The train that crashed, however, was operated by Norfolk Southern, which is not a passenger rail service.
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The crash occurred on Feb. 3 and resulted in the leak of hazardous chemicals into the environment. Emergency responders had to conduct a controlled burn of tanks carrying vinyl chloride to prevent explosions, and residents within a one-mile radius were evacuated. Republicans panned the Biden administration’s response, especially that of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who didn’t address the disaster publicly until Monday.
The news of the crash was overshadowed by the United States shooting down several more aerial objects in American and Canadian airspace after a Chinese spy balloon was found floating over sensitive military sites in Montana.
