Washington, D.C.—Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Material Dina Titus (D-NV) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a blanket waiver of all safety rules for gas and hazardous liquid pipelines.
“At best, any ‘savings’ will end up in the pipeline operator balance sheet and not in the wallets of families feeling the squeeze of higher prices from the Trump administration’s neglect of middle-class families.” Ranking Member Larsen said. “At worst, these changes could usher in a new era of pipeline safety incidents—which I’ve been working to prevent since the tragic 1999 Olympic pipeline explosion in my district. Secretary Duffy, please don’t do this.”
“Today’s announcement from PHSMA is just the latest example of the Trump Administration putting profits over people and public safety,” Ranking Member Titus said. “We have already seen record disregard for pipeline safety enforcement under the Trump Administration, and now PHSMA is proposing to further weaken regulations that protect communities from deadly incidents. It is clear where President Trump’s priorities lie.”
--30--