Frank Pallone: “I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to extend the authority for the Department of Homeland Security's…”

“I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to extend the authority for the Department of Homeland Security's Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program for another two years. The CFATS program provides critical national security protections for chemical facilities and for the people who work and live near these facilities. We should all be alarmed that it is on the verge of lapsing. Unfortunately, we have come down to the wire again to reauthorize this program. Without passage of this bill, the CFATS program will expire in two days. The program is not perfect, but it should be continued. This two-year extension will give the committees of jurisdiction time to consider important improvements to the program without fear that the program will lapse. To that end, Homeland Security Committee Chairman Green has begun the process of creating a CFATS reauthorization working group and Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats plan to be vocal members. We are prepared to push for our jurisdictional priorities in those conversations, specifically advocating for environmental justice communities, first responders, and worker safety. Chemical facility safety is not only important to the Energy and Commerce Committee, but also to my home state of New Jersey, where the high concentration of industrial chemical facilities coupled with densely populated cities makes safety and security of these facilities of the utmost importance.…”