Norfolk Southern has been a prolific campaign contributor while it actively lobbied on policy and legislation at the state level.
According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, Norfolk Southern and its affiliates made over 100 contributions to Ohio state officials and candidates over the last five years. Including $29,000 to Gov. DeWine’s campaign and transition team, totaling nearly $100,000.
Norfolk Southern – Ohio
Since DeWine took office, Norfolk Southern has given him and other Ohio lawmakers $73,000 and successfully killed bipartisan railway safety legislation that would have helped protect railroad workers and the communities their trains passed through.
Since 2019, lobbyists for Norfolk Southern reported efforts to influence the outcome of lawmaking and policymaking in Ohio’s legislative and executive branches of government. Activity reports on file with the Joint Legislative Ethics Commission show that Norfolk Southern lobbyists reported 26 attempts to influence the Attorney General, Governor DeWine and the Departments of Transportation and the Ohio Rail Development Commission on issues ranging from safety to taxation.
In addition to attempts to lobby the executive branch, the company’s hired guns sought to influence lawmakers on 20 pieces of legislation ranging from taxation to safety, including one proposal to require trains to have a minimum of two crew members on board. In 2019, the company testified in opposition to the bipartisan rail safety legislation, supported by rail workers, saying it was unnecessary and unjustified. The bill died in committee without becoming law. In 2021, the company’s political action committee continued its giving to Ohio lawmakers, including the Chair and Vice Chair of the transportation committee, and an identical bill failed to move during that legislative session.
As it supported both federal and state politicians with campaign cash, Norfolk Southern has been able to evade safety regulations and reduce its costs, resulting in higher profits. In 2022, Northfolk Southern reported earning $4.8B, up 8% from the year prior. However, the consequences of deregulation have been disastrous for the people of East Palestine.
As the trial of Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and FirstEnergy has shown us, corporate giving to campaigns occasionally comes with a clear expectation of favorable policy outcomes. And in Ohio, Norfolk Southern got what it wanted.
Norfolk Southern, for example. Beyond joining its fellow corporations in lobbying the government to strip regulation, like the Obama-era rule that mandated train cars carrying hazardous materials (like those derailed in East Palestine) to have better brakes, Norfolk Southern has also contributed millions of dollars directly to politicians. The $55 billion company has spent nearly $80 million since 1998 on lobbying; since 1990, it has sent about $17 million directly to candidates’ coffers.
Both parties are to blame for this, however, IT IS the ORIGINATOR trump's administration that undid previous administration's regulations in this industry. You can blame Biden for not reinstating the regulations, but shouldn't MORE blame be put on the person and administration who did away with it in the first place???
