The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday approved the proposed Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2006, reauthorizing the current pipeline safety law which was set to expire this year. The bill was introduced by committee Chairman Don Young, R-AK and Rep. Thomas Petri, R-WI. The American Gas Association said it was pleased the bill included a focus on prevention of excavation damage to pipelines, the single largest cause of incidents on the natural gas distribution system. The bill encourages stronger state damage prevention programs through financial incentives and increases penalties for failing to use the one-call system or failure to mark pipelines. The Senate still must act on the bill.
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Senate CFTC Reauthorization Bill Falls Short, Industrial Energy Consumers Say
Pending Senate legislation reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) comes up short because it fails to give the agency the authority to oversee over-the-counter (OTC) natural gas trades, including forward contracts, swaps and options, an industrial energy consumers group told Senate leaders who crafted the bill.
Congress Wrangling over LIHEAP Funding
Funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program(LIHEAP) is up in the air again with a Senate committeereauthorizing funding through 2004 and a House subcommittee votingto zero out 1999 fiscal year funding for the program. Rallying forLIHEAP’s continuation is the American Gas Association. “Thisunanimous [Senate] committee vote demonstrates the depth of supportthat LIHEAP has in the Senate. In fact, several senators at themarkup expressed their dismay about the House subcommittee actionto eliminate program funding,” said Steve Crout, AGA director ofgovernment relations. “We intend to fight hard to restore the ’99funding for LIHEAP, and today’s action shows that we can count onstrong support from the Senate.”