WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., this week joined bipartisan groups of lawmakers to reintroduce two bills aimed at tightening rail safety standards and strengthening cybersecurity protections for food assistance benefits.
What This Means for You
- New rail safety rules could affect hazardous material trains traveling through Pennsylvania communities.
- Proposed SNAP reforms would require fraud-resistant chip cards to prevent benefit theft.
- Both bills would require federal agencies to update regulations and increase oversight.
Rail Safety Proposal
Fetterman joined Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and others in reintroducing the Railway Safety Act of 2026, legislation first introduced after the 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The bill would require railroads to install and use “defect detectors,” trackside devices that identify mechanical problems such as overheated wheel bearings. The legislation mandates hotbox detectors — sensors that detect overheating bearings — be spaced an average of every 15 miles, compared to the current industry practice of about 25 miles.
It also expands the definition of “high-hazard trains” to include more types of dangerous cargo, such as flammable gases and certain toxic or explosive materials, subjecting them to additional speed limits and safety requirements.
Other provisions would:
- Increase the maximum civil penalty for rail safety violations from $100,000 to $10 million.
- Require two-person train crews on Class I railroads.
- Mandate more thorough and periodic railcar inspections.
- Require railroads to provide states with advance information about hazardous materials moving through their communities.
- Establish funding to reimburse first responders after major derailments.
“It’s been three years since the toxic train derailment in East Palestine — a complete tragedy and something we could have prevented. Congress still hasn’t done anything about it,” Fetterman said. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the Railway Safety Act, a commonsense bill that will hold railroads accountable and make our communities safer.”
The measure previously advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee in 2023 but did not receive a full Senate vote.
SNAP Cybersecurity Bill
In a separate bipartisan effort, Fetterman joined Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., along with House lawmakers, to introduce the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act of 2026.
SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides food benefits to low-income households through electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards. Most EBT cards currently rely on magnetic stripes, which can be cloned through a fraud technique known as “skimming.”
The bill would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update cybersecurity regulations for SNAP cards, which have not been updated since 2010 .
Specifically, the legislation would:
- Require states to issue chip-enabled EBT cards capable of resisting cloning within two years of new federal regulations.
- Prohibit states from issuing new magnetic-stripe-only cards within four years and require reissuance of existing cards within five years.
- Establish a grant program to help small grocery stores upgrade payment terminals to accept chip-enabled cards.
- Require updated cybersecurity and digital service regulations, reviewed every five years.
The legislation follows a January 2026 U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General report projecting that $555 million in SNAP funds could be vulnerable to theft if regulations are not updated.
“SNAP is a critical lifeline for nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians. We should be delivering help to those who need it, and that includes protecting them from criminals,” Fetterman said.
Both bills would require committee consideration before advancing to a full Senate vote.
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