Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, are growing increasingly frustrated after the toxic train derailment in March. Not only has President Biden yet to visit the beleaguered village, despite flying almost directly overhead recently, but the EPA’s sluggish response on testing and cleanup is also preventing hundreds of families from moving back into their homes.
It has been 199 days since the toxic train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, and 172 days since Biden promised he'd visit “at some point.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 21, 2023
Biden hasn’t said a word about it since.pic.twitter.com/g17jGubvkm
East Palestine Residents, Mayor BLAST Joe Biden for ignoring struggling Americans in Ohio town for over 200 days: "They're a NO-SHOW here."
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 22, 2023
pic.twitter.com/tuSPMrBddJ
As residents point out, about 60 percent of those who live in East Palestine are below poverty guidelines, so moving out of town isn’t a realistic option for most.
“It’s terrifying waking up and thinking that you don’t know if your environment is safe,” one resident told Fox News.
FOX: "People living in East Palestine, Ohio, are STILL waiting for government testing and cleanup — months after that toxic train derailment and spill. They're also still waiting for a visit from President Biden." pic.twitter.com/UCQHcOw7K2
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 21, 2023
In East Palestine, Ohio, 200 families are still unable to return home because of delays from Biden's EPA.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 21, 2023
"The EPA said that this would be done by June, then it was July, then it was August, and now...it's not expected to be done until sometime next year." pic.twitter.com/gUAplgU6au
As detailed in a recent New York Times report, families who have come back are facing mounting medical and financial crises, with one family telling the paper about their ordeal having to live in a hotel since the derailment, blowing through all their savings, and now the health conditions they face, which are presumably linked to the "controlled" burn of toxic chemicals after the derailment.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has sent billions to Ukraine and is calling on Congress to authorize even more funding for security, economic, and humanitarian assistance - a point not lost of the people of East Palestine.
Before Hawaii, Biden stiffed East Palestine https://t.co/x39EHyrJcK
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) August 22, 2023