House Democrats Agree to Work in Bipartisan Fashion on Pipeline Safety Bill
House Democrats appeared to reach across the aisle with a promise that work on a draft for a pipeline reauthorization bill would move forward in a bipartisan fashion.
Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey, voiced his support for bipartisan talks at an Energy Subcommittee legislative hearing on public safety, relating, “I am committed to working in a bipartisan manner to update and improve this critical federal program so that we produce a final bill that we can all be proud of and support.”
Democrats have signaled that the draft presented to Republicans is nothing more than a beginning of negotiations. The presented draft serves to test the waters and pave the way for a future bill, which would have more Republican input. Bobby Rush (D-Ill), Energy Subcommittee Chairman, further insists that new pipeline legislation would be bipartisan, with input from those on both sides of the table:
As we have said on numerous occasions, both Chairman Pallone and I would like for this process to be transparent and open, and we look forward to working with members of the minority, PHMSA and other important stakeholders to ultimately draft legislation that will receive wide, bipartisan support.
At the end of the day, the GAIN Coalition encourages lawmakers to hold true to their promises to work together on oversight of the vital infrastructure projects that our country needs. The reauthorization of PHMSA will be a critical step forward for the safety of the energy industry – we look forward to elected officials on both sides of the aisle coming together in support of midstream infrastructure safety.