00:00At this time, we recognize the gentlelady from the 14th District of Florida, who is the ranking member of the subcommittee, for five minutes for an open statement.
00:12Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, everyone.
00:15Today's hearing is an important reminder of the role of this committee of ensuring the safety of the public and our energy infrastructure.
00:24Congress created the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in 2004, and we charged it with ensuring the safety of nearly 3.3 million miles of pipelines across the country.
00:36Now, pipelines can be dangerous.
00:38There are many hundreds of pipeline safety incidents every year, many that result in death and injury.
00:45That's why PHMSA's work in setting safety standards and inspecting interstate pipelines is critical.
00:51And for years, Democrats have been focused on ensuring that PHMSA has adequate resources and a strong professional workforce.
01:00After a number of deadly accidents and the growing magnitude of aged, leaky, and unsafe pipelines, Congress passed the Pipes Act of 2020 to improve the safety of gas gathering lines and pipelines,
01:13while also addressing wasteful and dangerous methane gas leakages.
01:17Congress followed on in 2021 in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and allocated $1 billion over five years for natural gas distribution infrastructure safety and modernization grants to help replace leak-prone pipelines.
01:34I noticed in your opening, Mr. Chairman, you said the Trump administration has recommitted to safety.
01:40Oh, no, to the contrary.
01:42The Trump administration has halted those safety and modernization grants earlier this year, but multiple lawsuits were filed by states, nonprofits, and local communities challenging the freeze.
01:54And on April 17th, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate funding, ruling that the freeze was arbitrary and capricious and violated the law.
02:05The Department of Energy and EPA were required to resume disbursement of already awarded safety grant funds.
02:14The Trump administration also is failing to follow through on other pipeline safety initiatives, even though the Congress has been clear that we expect PHMSA to conduct robust reviews of pipeline maintenance and operation plans.
02:28When Congress reauthorized PHMSA's Office of Pipeline Safety in the Bipartisan Pipes Act, we required PHMSA to consider protection of the environment when reviewing proposed safety rules, including methane pollution leak detection.
02:45The former administration completed a final leak detection rule, but President Trump arbitrarily demanded that PHMSA withdraw it.
02:53That's not smart. Climate risk, cost, and harms are growing in severity, and PHMSA's work is only becoming more important.
03:03Climate-fueled extreme weather events can cause pipeline leaks and explosions, especially in high-risk states like Texas and Louisiana.
03:12We must ensure that all impacts are considered in siting, design, repair, and maintenance of oil and gas infrastructure, including pipelines.
03:20Unfortunately, rather than follow the law mandated by Congress, the Trump administration's PHMSA is taking a laissez-faire approach to pipeline safety, and this is dangerous and costly.
03:32To add insult to injury, the Trump administration has gutted PHMSA over the past seven months.
03:38Enforcement actions by the agency are at record lows.
03:41Just five cases in the first three months of this year, compared to 66 cases during the same time period in 2017.
03:51And get this, more than half of the agency's senior leadership has left.
03:56We're seeing this kind of sabotage over and over again from the Trump administration, and it's really putting Americans at risk.
04:04For example, my neighbors back home in Florida are less safe this hurricane season because of cuts at the National Weather Service.
04:11They've ended vital satellite forecasting initiatives and have left offices understaffed.
04:20At FERC, the president has asked the existing chair, who he appointed the first time around, to resign early,
04:25and then nominated a new chair who doesn't have any energy background.
04:29These actions jeopardize FERC's independence and make our energy systems less safe.
04:35At the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, President Trump has fired a safety commissioner and pushed executives' orders that threaten NRC independence.
04:44And just last week, Trump fired nearly every member of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
04:50So at every opportunity, Trump is cutting corners with safety and undermining energy agency independence.
04:57And, folks, this is not normal.
04:59And I urge my Republican colleagues on this committee to stand up to this reckless gutting of independent agency experts
05:07and abdication of the laws that keep us safe.
05:11Americans want safe and affordable energy.
05:14But we know we're going to be grappling with the higher cost of the big, ugly bill.
05:19I hope we can talk a little bit about that today.
05:22Mr. Chairman, hope springs eternal.
05:23Nevertheless, this could be the start of a good bipartisan dialogue to reauthorize pipeline safety
05:30and address some of the issues in this committee.
05:32So thank you very much, and I yield back.
05:34Thank you, the gentleman.
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