Voters should care because freight rail is a backbone of the U.S. economy, moving everything from food to fuel. Supporters of this bill believe that allowing foreign state-owned companies to build our rail cars creates a national security risk, as these cars could theoretically be equipped with tracking sensors or other technology used for surveillance.

If this becomes law, it would accelerate the removal of Chinese-linked equipment from U.S. infrastructure. However, if it results in a shortage of available freight cars or significantly higher costs for shipping companies, it could lead to higher prices for consumers on goods transported by rail.