On the recordJuly 19, 2017
I want to make it clear: I heard the comments of my colleague from Tennessee, and the Democrats do support natural gas pipelines, a very important part of our energy infrastructure. And, as a reminder, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves almost 90 percent of all pipeline applications within 1 year. And if there is any holdup recently, it is because the Republican-led Senate has not confirmed an additional FERC appointee. That is holding up the process of approving more natural gas pipelines. What we don't approve of, however, is a spill that attempts to short- circuit very important safety and environmental review processes and take private property rights away from landowners. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko).
