House Republicans say Buttigieg neglecting aviation and rail safety

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg isn’t doing enough to address rail and aviation safety, according to a letter to Buttiegieg from Republicans on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Committee Republicans want Buttigieg and the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct a briefing and provide the committee with documents and other communications that pertain to the agency’s investigation and remediation of “disturbing patterns[s] of aviation and rail safety failures.” The Tuesday letter cites 13 incidents involving mostly passenger air operations at takeoff and landing, as well as nine incidents involving freight rail, including the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, and the March 30 derailment of a BNSF train near Raymond, Minnesota.

“These safety failures have eroded the public’s confidence in air and rail safety and necessitate thorough investigation,” said the letter signed by Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, and 19 other representatives.

The letter also charges that DOT hasn’t taken sufficient action to resolve 86 new recommendations from DOT’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) that address aviation and surface transportation safety issues. By failing to address these recommendations in a timely fashion, DOT is not complying with guidelines from the Office of Management and Budget.