The House and Senate have reached a hard-fought agreement on pipeline safety legislation, the leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee said Thursday.

“Next week, that’s our hope” that the House will pass the legislation “pretty quickly,” sending it to the Senate for its approval and then on to the White House for the president’s signature, said a spokesman for the committee (see Daily GPI, Dec. 5). The House is expected to adjourn around Dec. 16.

“We are confident that a bill to improve the nation’s pipeline safety will be enacted this year,” said Martin Edwards, vice president of legislative affairs for the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.

“I am pleased that Republicans and Democrats in both chambers came together to move this important bill forward,” said Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL).

Transportation Committee leaders have been negotiating with House Energy and Commerce Committee officials, as well as Senate Commerce Committee leaders, to reach an agreement on the bill (HR 2845).

The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011:

“This legislation will make significant improvements in pipeline safety by addressing NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] recommendations that stem from several recent pipeline incidents,” said Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the panel.

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