WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) today issued the following statement applauding the passage of H.R. 2845, The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act. The bill passed the House by voice vote and now awaits immediate action in the Senate.
“As our nation’s energy demand and production continue to climb, so grows the importance of ensuring the safe transportation of these vital resources. As a Michigander, pipeline safety is an issue that hits especially close to home, and has been a focus of mine as Energy and Commerce Chairman. While our nation’s 2.5 million miles of pipeline infrastructure remain the safest and most effective mode of transporting essential energy resources throughout the United States, last summer’s tragic pipeline rupture into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River underscored the unacceptable costs of catastrophe. This bill does much to hold those responsible for pipeline accidents accountable, while also taking measurable steps to prevent pipeline failures from happening in the first place. I look forward to seeing immediate action from the Senate to ensure this important legislation reaches the President’s desk before the holidays."
Along with Michigan colleague John D. Dingell (D-MI), the former Democratic Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, Upton is the author of the Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act (H.R. 2937), which passed the Energy and Commerce Committee by a vote of 52 to 0 earlier this fall. Today’s legislation, H.R. 2845, was an agreement reached between the Upton-Dingell bill and additional pipeline safety bills advanced in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee by Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and in the U.S. Senate.
Ahead of today’s vote, Chairman Upton spoke on the House floor to urge support for this important piece of legislation.