Democrats have made it painfully clear over the last few years that the only “Palestine” they care about is the one filled with genocidal jihadis. Meanwhile, East Palestine, Ohio, was all but ignored by the federal authorities who love to fund drag shows and terrorist regimes in other countries, but never seem to have money for red states hit by disasters. All that is about to change.
Vice President JD Vance, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya announced on Thursday that they were launching an investigation into the long-term health effects on residents from the chemical spill that resulted from a Feb. 2023 train derailment. Vance, who, of course, was a senator from Ohio before becoming vice president, tried to interest the Biden administration in helping the East Palestine residents, but it was far more interested in funding foreign lawbreakers, sexual perverts, and jihadis. With Vance now in federal office, he can finally implement the measures he wanted.
I'm proud to announce with @SecKennedy and @NIHDirector_Jay that the Trump Administration is launching a program to study long-term health effects of the chemical spill in East Palestine, OH and help residents access the care they need. East Palestine, we will never forget you.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) Jun 18, 2025
Back in 2023, after a major train crash, “a controlled burn of toxic chemicals that went into the atmosphere in East Palestine, Ohio” spurred serious health concerns from everyone but the federal authorities. “What are the long-term impacts of these chemicals in the water, in the air, what effect does it have on their kids and grandkids after five years, 10 years, 15 years of exposure?” Vance asked. No one knew, and the feds didn’t care. Indeed, the Biden administration “refused to do anything to actually study the effects of these long-term exposures on the people of East Palestine,” Vance said. Joe Biden himself did not visit the scene of the disaster until more than a year later, long after Donald Trump visited. But the Trump administration is “finally going to study the effects on these chemicals and finally get to the bottom of what effect this terrible train crash and the ensuing consequences had on the people of East Palestine.”
Read Also: Court Rules on Trump's LA National Guard Deployment
Kennedy thanked Vance for not forgetting the people of East Palestine and insisted that after the 2023 derailment and burn, “community members immediately began experiencing a range of initial health symptoms, including headaches and respiratory in the skin and eye irritations, prompting concerns about the broader, long term impacts on maternal and child health.”
HHS’s subsidiary, the National Institute of Health, has launched a five-year, $10 million research initiative to address health outcomes stemming from this calamity,” Kennedy announced. “This is the first large-scale, coordinated, multi-year federal study focused specifically on the long-term health impacts of the East Palestine disaster.”
This will also assist epidemiological research more generally “to understand the impacts of exposures on short and long-term injuries,” Kennedy said. “It will also support public health tracking and surveillance of the community's health conditions to help us make informed health care choices and take appropriate preventative measures.”
Bhattacharya said he is “very, very excited” about the initiative. “The purpose and goal of the NIH, the mission, is to advance the health and well-being of the American people, and this is a concrete way that we're going to do that,” he said. “The NIH is working to ensure that the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities are listened to, cared for, and they get the answers they deserve. Today, the NIH has established a program to coordinate health-related research with public health department needs and clinical practice to respond to the health effects of the derailment.”
Bhattacharya listed some of the toxins. “The train was carrying hazardous materials including vinyl chloride, butyl acetate, ethylene glycol and benzene residue, and community members have experienced a range of health issues following the incident.” And, “Importantly, the program will be community-led,” Bhattacharya stated proudly. “It will emphasize extensive, well-coordinated communications among researchers, study participants and community stakeholders and healthcare providers and others to provide a comprehensive approach to address the affected communities' health concerns.” He added, “The deadline [to] submit proposals is July 21 and we anticipate starting research this fall.”
All Americans will benefit from the effort, Vance argued. “No one has tried to do this in this particular way. I think it's going to benefit millions of Americans, we're going to know more than we knew, because [of] the hard work of the guys standing next to me.”
The federal government shouldn’t be involved in healthcare, but, at the very least, our taxpayer money should be spent on helping American citizens rather than Islamic terrorists. This initiative to help East Palestine is long overdue and a major win.
Help us continue to tell the truth about Biden administration failures and Trump administration successes. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member