President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, Greg Regan, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about the progress of the Rail Safety Act 2023. Regan also talked about safety improvements in the bill and the potential appointment of a new FAA Administrator.
The Rail Safety Act 2023 is a bipartisan bill that is currently waiting for action on the Senate floor. While Regan admitted it’s not a perfect bill, it would make great strides to improve railway safety. Currently, the bill has less than the 60 required votes to begin moving forward, but there is hope they’ll have the remaining votes by the end of the year.
Of the various safety improvements in the bill, Regan highlighted what he considered a critical component of the legislation, safety inspections. Setting minimum standards for rail car inspections is a priority. Right now, there is only an average of 45 seconds allowed for safety inspections, according to Regan. The belief is that creating a minimum standard for safety inspection times would significantly improve safety on the rails. As the bill moves forward, Regan expects changes to be made, but the safety aspects are essential.
There has been progress made to appoint a new Federal Aviation Administration Administrator. Regan expects there will be a new Administrator in place by the end of the week. This would fill a gap for the largest transportation department in the government and improve many of the issues on hold since the last administrator was in place.
To hear more from Regan, please listen to the whole show above.