The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will vote this week on a bipartisan bill reauthorizing the nation’s pipeline safety regulator.
Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) announced H.R. 5301, the “Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act,” last week. It will receive a committee vote Wednesday.
It’s the latest attempt to authorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s pipeline safety programs. The agency, which regulates millions of miles of pipelines and all hazardous material shipments, was last fully authorized in 2020 — and this bill would back the agency for the next four years.
“The United States is blessed with abundant energy resources, and we must remain a global leader in the production and exportation of energy,” Graves said in a statement. “This bill helps ensure that PHMSA remains focused on its critical safety mission so that we can transport our traditional and future forms of energy safely, efficiently, and responsibly.”
