Washington, D.C. –U.S. Representative John D. Dingell (D-MI15) released the following statement at the House Energy and Commerce full committee mark-up of H.R. 2250, the Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection of 2011. The Congressman introduced this legislation with House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI6). The bill passed unanimously in the committee with a vote of 51-0:
“Mr. Chairman, thank you for your courtesy. We have before us a strong, bi-partisan bill which does much to improve pipeline safety in our nation. H.R. 2937, the Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act of 2011, takes a balanced approach to this important issue and will help fix many of the existing deficiencies in our current system. I appreciate what you did, Chairman Upton, in reaching across the aisle and working in a constructive manner to reach consensus. I specifically want to recognize Jeff Baran of the minority staff and Garrett Golding of the majority staff for all of their hard work on the legislation. The Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act of 2011 contains many provisions of which we can be proud. Specifically, the bill expands the integrity management program while phasing out class location requirements, thereby putting a stronger safety standard in place while taking steps to remove redundant regulations. The legislation mandates the use of automatic and remote controlled shut-off valves for new pipelines, and requires studies of the feasibility of retrofitting. The leak detection standard is also an improvement over existing law and will help us increase public safety. There are many other sections which promote pipeline safety, as well as several provisions that benefit industry which have been included at their request. This legislation helps continue the long history of bi-partisan cooperation in this Committee on the issue of pipeline safety, and I am glad this tradition has continued.
“H.R. 2937 has widespread support from both industry and safety advocates, and I urge all members of this Committee to support it. I believe we should work to send this bill to the President’s desk and urge all members to support this bill as we work with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to bring legislation to the floor.
“The two other pieces of legislation the Committee will consider today deals with the EPA and the Clean Air Act. EPA is an essential part of protecting our air quality, our environment, our treasured Great Lakes, fish and wildlife, and the well-being of our people and industry. Like other human entities, it has made mistakes. I have from time to time been critical of EPA. But our job is to see that EPA does its work well in protecting the health and environment of our great country without impairing the economy, jobs and our competitiveness. EPA needs to have the funding and staff it requires to function in a transparent way so that it merits the support of our people in our great effort to protect public health and the environment. Should this committee move forward with legislation, it is important that the Clean Air Act’s health-based and air quality standards be protected. I want to be sure that any solution to air pollution issues represents an equitable balance among all affected industries and parties. The existing Clean Air Act is such a solution and before we take any steps to alter it, we need to know we have developed something better to put in its place. I do not believe that the other two bills before us today meet this goal. However, I remain open to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a balanced approach as these bills move to the floor. Once again, I thank Chairman Upton for working in a bipartisan manner on pipeline safety, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
To view a video copy of his opening statement and his statement before the vote, click below:
After the mark-up vote, Rick Kessler, Vice President of the Pipeline Safety Trust, commented on Dingell’s leadership on pipeline safety saying, “I praise Dingell for being the leader on this issue for decades. He’s always been a lion when it comes to protecting our nation’s environment and has fought fiercely to improve the safety of pipelines in the United States.”
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