Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 7073, the Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act.
I introduced this important piece of legislation earlier this year to direct the Department of Energy toward a new and more modern approach to pipeline research and development.
The chairman talked about over 2 million something miles of pipelines in the United States. Well, I am from the great State of Texas, which has over half a million miles of gas and liquid pipelines, so that is about a fourth of the whole pipelines in the United States if my high school math is holding up. This creates $374 billion, with a b, in total economic output for my State.
That is because pipelines deliver oil and gas safely, reliably, and efficiently. However, as the chairman mentioned, half of all U.S. pipelines are over 60 years old, so we can expect defects and anomalies to occur more often. It is just a fact of the wear and tear they are under. Imagine driving a car that was over 60 years old, and yet it had never been tended to, which is unbelievable.
Now, that is not to say that pipelines are dangerous, Mr. Speaker. Actually, the truth is quite the opposite, as pipelines safely deliver oil and gas without incident--check these numbers out--24/7, 99.999 percent of the time. That is a pretty good safety record, Mr. Speaker.
As new energy sources emerge, like hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane, we can expect pipelines to be the primary source of transportation to American energy independence into the future.
H.R. 7073 encourages new public-private projects in maintenance of our current pipeline infrastructure, and in supporting next-generation systems. Through the technological innovation directed by this legislation, the American energy sector will actually see a strengthened focus on material behavior, leak detection capabilities, and multifuel transportation.
The Next Generation Pipeline R&D Act also brings together industry stakeholders, academia, and Federal agencies to collaborate and coordinate on vital pipeline research needs. It ensures that the Department of Energy focuses on basic research that is actually too low on the technology readiness level for industry to conduct. At the same time, this bill enables industry to be involved and ready to run with the innovation that does come from that kind of research.
Lastly, this bill codifies and updates a multiagency research program that includes the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Transportation. This language updates and builds upon the original memorandum of understanding that was put in place way back in 2004.
H.R. 7073 is a good government bill with bipartisan support, as you have heard here tonight. It strengthens U.S. leadership in oil and natural gas research and actually provides a good return on investment for the American taxpayer. I thank Representatives Caraveo and Obernolte, as well as Chairman Lucas and our ranking member across the aisle for cosponsoring and being great partners on this bill. I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
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