HR 4339 Introduced – Pipeline Repair

As I noted two weeks ago Rep. Rangel (D,NY) introduced HR 4339, the Pipeline Revolving Fund and Job Creation Act. With the bill now published by the GPO it is clear that this is a delayed companion bill to S 1768 introduced last November by Sen. Markey (D,MA). With the recent explosion in New York City that was apparently caused by old and leaking natural gas lines, there may be more impetus for this bill to be considered in the House.

We will have to wait and see if it is considered by either the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee or the House Energy and Commerce Committee, both of which have been assigned to look at provisions of the bill. Dual committee assignments, while necessary when there is an overlap of jurisdiction, frequently doom the bill to a silent death.

Bills Introduced – 03-27-14

Yesterday 63 bills were introduced in the House and Senate. Three of those bills may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 4338 Latest Title: To amend title 49, United States Code, to require gas pipeline facilities to accelerate the repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of high-risk pipelines used in commerce, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Rangel, Charles B. (D,NY)

HR 4339 Latest Title: To establish State revolving loan funds to repair or replace natural gas distribution pipelines. Sponsor: Rep Rangel, Charles B. (D,NY)

S 2167 Latest Title: A bill to establish a grant program for career education in computer science. Sponsor: Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY]

I suspect that the two pipeline bills are related to the recent gas pipeline explosion in New York City. That explosion highlighted the dangers associated with this specific portion of our aging infrastructure problem.

The last bill will only receive coverage here if it has specific coverage of cybersecurity education support.