Review – HR 5301 Introduced – PIPES Act of 2025

Back in September Rep Graves (R,MO) introduced HR 5301, the Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act of 2025. This is a periodic reauthorization of PHMSA’s pipeline safety program and includes spending authorization for multiple parts of that program (including grants) through 2029. It also provides Congress with an opportunity to provide guidance and direction on the Pipeline Safety Regulations (PSR).

HR 5301 is the latest version of the periodic ‘Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act’. The previous version, HR 6494, was introduced by Graves in November 2023. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a markup hearing in early December of 2023, and ordered the bill reported favorably by a voice vote. The Committee Report was published later that month. No other actions were taken on the bill in the 118^th Congress.

Sections of interest here include:

Section 2 Authorization of appropriations.
Section 3 Definitions.

Section 5 Regulatory updates.

Section 21 Penalty for causing a defect in or disrupting operation of pipeline infrastructure.

Section 24 Pipeline safety voluntary information-sharing system.

Section 31 Study on localized emergency alert system for pipeline facilities incidents.

Moving Forward

On September 17^th, 2025, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a business meeting that included consideration of HR 5301. At that meeting an amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted and further amended. By a voice vote the Committee ordered the bill, as amended, ordered reported favorably. This should mean that there would be relatively strong bipartisan support for the bill on the floor of the House. The remaining issue that must be addressed before that floor consideration can proceed (almost certainly under the suspension of the rules process) will be to get acquiescence from the Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to which this bill was assigned for secondary consideration.

 

For more information about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-5301-introduced-pipes-act-of-2025 - subscription required.