On the recordJuly 28, 2015
The amendment seeks to carve out from the REINS Act's reforms regulations that concern natural gas or hazardous materials pipeline safety or the prevention of oil spills and their adverse impacts. We all support pipeline safety and the prevention of harm from pipeline spills, but there is no assurance that the amendment would guarantee the achievement of those goals. On the contrary, the amendment would shield from congressional accountability procedures regulations that actually threaten to decrease safety. They also would shield from the bill's congressional approval requirements new, ideologically driven regulations intended to impede Americans' access to new sources of inexpensive, clean, and plentiful natural gas. This amendment clearly says that the Congress can and has voted to have pipeline accountability and safety measures regulated but that the Congress doesn't care what those regulations are. The Congress does care what the regulations are, and that is why they should come back here so that the Congress can confirm that the regulations written comport with the legislation already passed. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.
