Date: 2013-11-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to speak about the rule governing debate on this bill. H.R. 1900. the "Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Act." Mr. Speaker. as I stated yesterday when we debated the other energy bills. I am not antienergy exploration. I am not proor antifracking. I am. however strongly "projobs." "proeconomic growth." and "prosustainable environment." As a Member of Congress from Houston I have always been mindful of the importance of. and have strongly advocated for. national energy policies that will make our nation energy independent. preserve and create jobs. and keep our nations economy strong. That is why I carefully consider each energy legislative proposal brought to the floor on its individual merits and support them when they are sound. balanced. fair. and promote the national interest. Where they fall short. I believe in working across the aisle to improve them if possible by offering constructive amendments. Although I believe the nation would benefit by increased pipeline capacity to transport our abundant supplies of natural gas. the legislation before contains several provisions that are of great concern to me. Pursuant to Section 2. paragraph (4) of the bill. a permit or license for a natural gas pipeline project is "deemed" approved if the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission (FERC) or other federal agencies do not issue the permit or license within 90120 days. I have three concerns with this regulatory scheme. First. as a senior member of the Committee on the Judiciary. I have a problem with "deeming" something done that has not been done in fact. Thus. the provision is unwise. Second. this provision is a remedy in search of a problem. There is no lengthy or intolerable backlog of neglected natural gas pipeline projects awaiting action by FERC. The provision is unnecessary because FERC has. since fiscal year 2009. completed action on 92 percent (504 out of 548) of all pipeline applications that it has received within one year of receipt. And the remaining 8% of decisions that have taken longer than one year involve complex proposals that merit additional review and consideration. Third. the provision is irresponsible because would require FERC to and other agencies to make decisions based on incomplete information or information that may not be available within the stringent deadlines. and to deny applications that otherwise would have been approved. but for lack of sufficient review time. Compounding the problem is that the fact that FERC like virtually every federal agency is operating under the onerous and draconian provisions of the disastrous sequestration which has caused so much misery and disruption across the nation and to our economy. FERC. for example. with a budget of $306 million faces a $15 million reduction in spending authority this fiscal year. according to OMB. That sum amounts to 5% of FERCs budget. So the likely impact of this bill if passed is to put FERC in the position of having to work faster to issue decisions with fewer experienced employees and a reduction in resources. Given the inherent dangers involved in the construction and operation of a natural gas pipeline. does anyone doubt that this state of affairs is likely to lead to FERC to err on the side of caution and deny applications that may otherwise been approved if it had more time and more resources to carry out its responsibilities? Mr. Speaker. we should not take that chance. That is why I offered an amendment. which the Rules Committee made in order. to suspend the effectiveness of this legislation so long as sequestration is in effect. I urge all Members to support the Jackson Lee Amendment when it comes to the floor later this week. The material previously referred to by Mr. McGOVERN is as follows: