Maria Cantwell: “Obviously, we are here discussing the best ways to move forward on pipeline safety for the country. Obviously, despite…”

“Obviously, we are here discussing the best ways to move forward on pipeline safety for the country. Obviously, despite the troubling record, this bill puts much of the responsibility of additional standards into the hands of the Transportation Department and the Office of Pipeline Safety. In this legislation, we are relying on the Office of Pipeline Safety--a small office of only 55 inspectors--to be the principal Government agency responsible for ensuring the safety of 2 million miles of our Nation's pipelines. After years of failure in responding to congressional mandates--not having the capacity--one of the key issues for me, as this bill moves through the process of the other body, and through a conference committee, will be the level of support for funding given to the Office of Pipeline Safety and their ability to take on the monitoring responsibilities and the responsibilities of the amendment that was offered by Senator Corzine, myself, and others, which was adopted. The pipeline safety disruptions not only endanger human health and safety but the leaks and explosions and fires associated with pipeline ruptures can devastate the environment and disrupt critical energy flows.”