Lower Energy Costs Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment is intended to further bipartisan efforts to streamline the environmental permitting process by applying one Federal decision to certain pipeline safety actions.

Agencies such as the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration can be required to undertake lengthy and burdensome Federal environmental reviews that can take several months, and often times, even years to complete.

As a result, essential safety and energy actions are stalled or sometimes completely stopped, which can limit our energy resources, limit our ability to be energy independent, and unnecessarily create scarcities, higher prices, and threats to the safety and health of our citizens.

This amendment represents just another step toward eliminating these problems. It sets reasonable goals for reviewing the environmental impacts of certain pipeline safety actions. Specifically, it limits the review time to 2 years, consolidates Federal reviews into one streamlined process and document, and removes unnecessary delays in making final agency decisions.

This amendment builds on bipartisan support and precedent for requiring agencies to undertake one Federal decision when reviewing the potential environmental impacts of the Federal action. Similar efforts have been signed into law, including for Federal reviews of highway projects as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Biden in 2021.

It is recognized that through one Federal decision, we can sensibly streamline energy and energy safety projects, including pipelines, without compromising environmental protections.

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Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), who is the chair of the Aviation Subcommittee on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

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Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Chairman, this important amendment simply builds off existing bipartisan efforts to sensibly streamline environmental reviews by applying one Federal decision to certain pipeline projects as my friend from Louisiana indicated.

At a time when our domestic energy independence is suffering and energy prices are increasing, we must look for ways to support our energy safety, infrastructure, and production.

This amendment represents one way of doing that. It does not remove or alter environmental protections, rather it merely streamlines the process and consolidates essential government agencies and decisionmaking under one Federal decision.

To reiterate what Mr. Graves said, it really defies explanation that my friend from the other side would oppose this, given the fact that he just voted for it in the Infrastructure Investment Act.

Mr. Chair, I urge support of this amendment and the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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