Fred Upton

I hope that we can receive a commitment from you to adopt the same bipartisan formula that worked so well the last two times we did pipeline safety reauthorization.

Strengthening cybersecurity for pipelines is an issue that I care deeply about, and I believe that Congress does need to act in both the House and the Senate.

I will confess that I was most disappointed to learn that, while TSA was invited to participate in today's hearing, they officially declined to appear.

I am proud of the work that we accomplished with that bill, particularly the language that I was able to include requiring mandatory annual inspections for certain pipeline crossings.

Throughout my time in Congress, I have especially prioritized pipeline safety.

We have a great track record when we work together from the very start, especially when it involves public safety.

This is an important hearing as we begin our work to reauthorize the Nation's pipeline safety laws.

I look forward to seeing this bill get across the finish line in this Congress.

This is the opportunity for us to really embark on early in the year, get it done in the first year.

It does appear that we are on the cusp of actually getting something through.

We are going to have a nuclear renaissance in this country and we need that final repository.

You cautioned against legislation that would undermine the value of patents.

We are all cosponsors. We all worked our networks of folks.

This is an important hearing, and I appreciate everyone's testimony, that is for sure.

It is long past time that Congress--reexamine EPCA to see if there are ways to modernize the 40-year-old statute to improve DOE's appliance standards program.

I would hate to see anything slow down, given the pace of innovation in this country, which I know you share a faith in.

I think that it is pretty apparent that all of us want appliance standards, energy efficiency standards for appliances.

I have long been a supporter of DOE's work on appliance standards, but I realize we have to be realistic about the challenges.

I want to state for the record that we expect EERE to carry out the law as Congress intended, and utilize the resources that Congress provides.

I believe DOE's efficiency standards have served as one of the nation's most effective policies for reducing energy use.

I look forward to hearing from Assistant Secretary Daniel Simmons, who leads the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which carries out this program.

If we are going to have a serious solution-oriented discussion about how to address climate change risks, as I believe that we should, then we must acknowledge the historical progress that we have made with DOE's efficiency program.

I urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I have no further speakers on our side that I am aware of, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I would have to say that it is my understanding that these waivers are budget-neutral to the Federal Government.