Political Quotes

“On January 3, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011. Section 24 of that act states that, effective January 3, 2013, the Secretary of Transportation may not issue ``guidance or a regulation that incorporates by reference any documents or portions thereof unless the documents or portions thereof are made available to the public free of charge or on an Internet Web site.'' Then, in the last Congress, the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials held a number of hearings on pipeline safety, one of which highlighted a current regulation that required pipeline operators to develop and implement public education and awareness programs. The regulation did not explain what should be contained in the education programs, however. Instead, it pointed readers to an industry-developed standard. But in order to read the standard, you had to pay the drafters more than $1,000. If you're a small community, $1,000 is a lot of money for access to just one of many pipeline safety standards. I and many of my colleagues have concerns about the Federal Government issuing a regulation that requires whoever wants to read it--particularly local communities, first responders, and private citizens--to have to purchase it from a private association. Fortunately, the 2011 act resolved this situation.…”