Increasing Pipeline Safety

Statement

On Monday, the House passed H.R. 2845, a bill to strengthen pipeline safety standards by allowing for the hiring of additional safety inspectors, increasing penalties for violators, requiring automatic shutoff valves on new or replaced pipeline, and mandating that pipelines in high-consequence areas have the documentation or testing to prove they can safely handle their level of pressure. Having witnessed the devastation of the San Bruno pipeline explosion -- meeting the victims, touring the destruction, and thanking the first responders -- it is all too clear why Congress had to take strong bipartisan action to strengthen pipeline safety standards. I commend Transportation Secretary LaHood for his continued attention to this urgent safety issue.

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