WASHINGTON, DC - President Obama today signed into law the “Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act of 2016." A House amendment to S. 2276 passed earlier this month, and the final legislation cleared the Senate last week. As the product of bipartisan work from the Energy and Commerce Committee and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the new law will reform the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to increase efficiency and transparency.
“We came together, Republicans and Democrats, to improve pipeline safety, and we got the job done with this important law. Every day, American families and businesses depend on safe and efficient energy transportation. The PIPES Act will ensure that our nation’s 2.6 million miles of pipelines continue to provide critical access to energy, and we are proud of the bipartisan work that made this effort a success," said the sponsors of the original House legislation, Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Energy and Power Subcommittee Ranking Member Bobby Rush (D-IL), Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (R-CA), and Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Capuano (D-CT).
