The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will rekindle a push for new, bipartisan pipeline safety legislation after efforts sputtered in the last Congress.
The Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials will meet Tuesday to collect fresh input from industry players and advocates eager to see Congress extend the authorization for the federal pipeline regulator’s safety programs.
The hearing comes as the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is under new pressure from the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, who are looking to expand fossil fuel production and infrastructure while supporting the growing carbon capture industry.
It will be an opportunity for committee leaders — Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) — to get a head start on a bipartisan framework for their bill after their efforts were complicated last year by partisan feuds on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which also has jurisdiction over PHMSA.
