Last month, Rep Finstad (R,MN) introduced HR 1623 (no name). The bill would add certain commercial propane storage facilities to the list of facilities excluded from the reporting requirements of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. No funding is authorized by this legislation.
Moving Forward
Neither Finstad, nor his sole cosponsor {Rep Costa (D,CA)} are members of either the House Homeland Security Committee or the House Energy and Commerce Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that HR 1623 is unlikely to be considered in either committee. I think that there would be bipartisan opposition in both committees to extending CFATS exemptions to these facilities; it would undercut the whole purpose of the program.
Commentary
It is sad, that as of this date, that this is the only bill
that has been introduced this session dealing with the CFATS program. The
current authorization of the program runs out on July 27th, 2023.
There has not even been a CFATS oversight hearing scheduled. I suspect that the
program will be extended, but the lack of action to date would almost ensure
that Congress will only be able to effect a short term extension of the
program.
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