WASHINGTON, D.C. — In spring of 2023, the Railway Safety Act seemed on track to become law. The bill gathered steam after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, spilling toxic chemicals into the community and forcing thousands of families to flee.

More than a year and a half later, the bill remains stalled in the Senate, with senators trading blame for the holdup.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has labeled the legislation as one of his priorities to pass before the end of the year. Yet both of Ohio’s senators—Sherrod Brown and JD Vance—said the bill should have become law by now.

Brown and Vance were among a bipartisan group of senators to champion the bill, which would toughen regulations on the rail industry, like requiring a two-person crew on certain freight trains and expanding oversight of trains carrying hazardous materials.

“The most significant bipartisan legislation to get out of any committee the last few years in the United States Senate was a railway safety bill that I authored with some of my Democratic colleagues,” Vance said during a rally for former President Donald Trump on Sept. 17. “And the basic idea of this bill, by the way, is trains shouldn’t be able to crash into rural communities or urban communities without any consequences. So we want to make those train companies operate a little bit more safely.”

Vance blamed Democratic Senate leadership for not bringing the bill up for a vote.

“That bill right now could pass the United States Senate. Chuck Schumer is not bringing it up because he’s not interested in making policy,” Vance said.

But in an interview with Spectrum News, Schumer laid the blame on Vance for failing to convince the nine other Republicans needed to overcome the Senate filibuster.

The railroad industry—and most Senate Republicans—have said the regulations in the bill were overly burdensome.

“if he could get ten Republicans, it would be great,” Schumer said in the Sept. 12 interview. “A lot of the Republicans are listening to the railroad industry and we have said—and Vance and Sherrod agreed to this—to two train men on a car on a train, but a lot of the Republican leadership’s against it. That’s I think what stymied the bill.”

The criticism of Vance’s political skill to whip up votes comes as he is running as Trump’s vice-presidential candidate. Being able to tout a major legislative win like the rail safety bill would be a boost on the campaign trail for Vance, though it could also benefit Brown’s Senate reelection bid.

Vance has publicly stated that he does have at least nine Republican votes, though he has not identified the two additional senators that would join himself along with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo).

Brown, a Democrat facing a tough reelection in a state that now leans heavily Republican, also blamed Schumer for not bringing the bill up for a vote. Brown wrote in a statement,

“I’ve been clear: Leader Schumer needs to put the Railway Safety Act on the floor—as soon as possible. Every Senator should have to say whether they stand with the big railroads or the people of East Palestine. I disagree with Leader Schumer’s decision not to put our bill up for a vote, and I believe when the Senate votes on our legislation, it will pass.”

For hopes of passing the bill before the election, the train has left the station. But Brown has said he hoped the bill could pass as soon as November, when lawmakers return for a lame duck session.