WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) this week introduced H.R.161, the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act. The bill would help modernize the federal review process for natural gas pipeline permit applications and help to provide the infrastructure needed to deliver affordable energy to American households and businesses.
Natural gas pipeline infrastructure has failed to keep pace with increased production and innovation. And despite increased authority given to FERC, the permitting process for new pipelines remains unacceptably slow - hurting American manufacturers and consumers. Residents in the Northeast are especially vulnerable to pipeline shortages and price spikes. H.R. 161 offers a commonsense solution to help alleviate our pipeline infrastructure problems by bringing stability and accountability to the regulatory process.
“I am proud to introduce legislation to reform natural gas pipeline permitting. It is critical that the process for reviewing natural gas pipelines is modernized, especially as natural gas becomes more prevalent as a source of electricity generation. Consumers must have affordable and reliable electricity choices. Ongoing delays because of a complex permitting process must not prohibit families in Kansas, and across the country, from obtaining reliable and economical heating for their homes in the winter and cooling for them in the summer," said Pompeo.
Full committee chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) added, “As the mercury plummets to historic lows, consumers need certainty that their homes will remain heated and that costs will remain affordable. We need to construct the Architecture of Abundance to fulfill our energy potential, and this bill is certainly part of that. I thank Congressman Pompeo for his continued leadership on this critical issue, and I look forward to working with him to move this vital energy infrastructure bill across the finish line - American families, consumers, and job-creators deserve nothing less."
