Review – S 1017 Introduced – Pipeline Damage Expansion

Last month Sen Sheehy (R,MT) introduced S 1017, the Safe and Secure Transportation of American Energy Act. The bill would amend 49 USC 60123(b) to expand the coverage of ‘the penalty for damaging or destroying an interstate pipeline’ to include select civil disobedience activities. No new funding is authorized by this legislation.

The bill is essentially the same as to S 5045, that was introduced by Sen Cruz (R,TX) in September 2024. No action was taken on that bill in the 118^th Congress.

Moving Forward

Sheehy and all seven of his cosponsors {Sen Cruz (R,TX; Chair), Sen Sullivan (R,AK), Sen Budd (R,NC), Sen Capito (R,WV), Blackburn (R,TN), Sen Young (R,IN), and Sen Fischer (R,NE)} are all members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. With the Chair of the Committee as one of the cosponsors, there is certainly adequate influence to see the bill considered in Committee. There will be strong opposition to this bill from most Democrats, who would view it as an effort to make demonstrations about new pipelines illegal. The bill would pass in Committee, perhaps even with some Democrats supporting the bill, but there would probably not be enough votes to overcome a cloture vote on the Senate floor.

 

For more information on the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-1017-introduced - subscription required.