Political Quotes

“I rise in support of S. 1505, the Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996. The bill authorizes the pipeline safety program for 5 years. It ensures and oversees the safety of our Nation's gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. Pipelines remain the safest form of transportation in our country. Fatalities from pipeline accidents represent less than 0.003 percent of the total number of fatalities of all modes of transportation. The bill we are considering today is a new direction for pipeline safety. In the last decade, Congress has micromanaged the program. However, because of the outstanding safety record, we think it makes a lot of sense that the industry and the Department of Transportation now move away from a command and control approach to a risk-based approach and that is what the legislation does. This has been bipartisan throughout. We have worked with colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Indeed we have worked with the Department of Transportation, with all parties who are interested. And we believe that this is a strong safety bill in the right direction and we would urge its support.”