This week, with both the House and Senate in session, we are
starting to see a fuller hearing scheduled, including some budget hearings
(none of specific interest here this week). There are three hearings of
interest here, a markup hearing, a pipeline safety hearing, and a look at the
East Palestine train derailment.
Markup Hearing
On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee will hold a business
meeting that will include consideration of S
559, the Fire Grants and Safety Act. This reauthorization bill for the US
Fire Administration has not yet been printed by the GPO, so I do not know what
is specifically included in the bill. This bill, along with three nomination
votes, is the short agenda for this meeting.
Pipeline Safety
On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and
Hazardous Materials of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
will hold a
hearing on “Pipeline Safety: Reviewing Implementation of the PIPES Act of
2020 and Examining Future Safety Needs”. The witness list includes:
• Tristan Brown – PHMSA,
• Andrew Black, Liquid Energy
Pipeline Association (LEPA),
• Kenneth W. Grubb, Gas Pipelines,
Kinder Morgan, Inc., and
• Bill Caram, Pipeline Safety Trust
There may be questions on cybersecurity issues, but it will
probably not be a major focus of the hearing.
Ohio Derailment
On Thursday, the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee will hold a hearing on “Protecting Public Health and the Environment
in the Wake of the Norfolk Southern Train Derailment and Chemical Release in
East Palestine, Ohio”. The witness list includes:
Sen Sherrod Brown (D,OH),
Sen JD Vance (R,OH),
Sen Bob Casey (D,PA),
Alan Shaw, Norfolk Southern Corporation,
Debra Shore, EPA,
Anne Vogel, Ohio EPA,
Richard Harrison, Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation
Commission, and
Eric Brewer, Beaver County Department of Emergency Services
The Senators will be on a separate panel, giving them a
chance to formally air their concerns about the incident. The real fireworks
will be seen with the second panel. All of these witnesses are in for some
heavy grilling on the cause of the accident and the following response. It is
interesting that the NTSB was not included.
On the Floor
There is one bill that will be considered in the House this
week under their suspension of the rules process; HR 1123, the Understanding Cybersecurity of
Mobile Networking. The GPO has not yet published an official copy of this bill,
but Majority Leaders web site does provide
a link to a committee print of the bill. The bill would require DOC to
prepare a report to congress on “examining the cybersecurity of mobile service
networks and the vulnerability of such networks and mobile devices to
cyberattacks and surveillance conducted by adversaries.” I will try to have a review
available before the bill is considered.
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