Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE MARKUP OF H.R. 5782, THE “PIPELINE SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2006" AND H.R. 5472, THE “NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AND CERVICAL CANCER
EARLY DETECTION PROGRAM
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2006”

September 27, 2006

Mr. Chairman, thank you for conducting this markup on these important bills. Both bills are worthy of this Committee’s support, and I appreciate the bipartisan manner in which they were developed.

The issue of pipeline safety is not one of the more high profile energy issues that this Committee deals with, but it is one of the most critical. Because oil and gas pipelines are often out of the public’s sight, they are usually out of mind as well. That is until we have a spectacular failure like those several years ago that left several people dead in Washington State and in New Mexico, or more recent events such as the temporary shutdown of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.

This bill builds on the success of the 2002 pipeline safety act in several respects, and will further insure that our pipeline system is well-maintained.

It addresses the issue of excavation damage – one of the leading causes of pipeline damage – through several measures. First, it requires States whose pipeline safety programs are certified by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a damage prevention program. Second, the bill establishes grants to States to carry out such programs. Third, the bill includes new penalty provisions for those who fail to abide by a State’s call-before-you-dig program.

The bill also requires DOT to prescribe minimum integrity management standards for gas distribution operators, thereby covering the area of the pipeline system closest to most American homes.

The bill takes a substantial step in making DOT’s pipeline safety enforcement process more transparent to the general public, which has been a longstanding concern of mine. DOT will now be required to publish a monthly summary of its enforcement actions on both liquid and gas pipelines, giving the public valuable insight into areas where problems exist, and giving pipeline operators a forum to demonstrate they have been corrected.

The bill includes language that requires the vast majority of low-stress liquid lines to be covered by regulations in an identical manner as high-stress liquid lines. In my opinion, this language is far better than the proposed rule recently issued by DOT, and I want to thank the pipeline safety organizations and the liquid pipeline industry for working together to reach a consensus position that advances the cause of safety.

Finally, the bill includes a provision on the recently-released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report regarding the mandatory seven-year reinspection interval for natural gas pipelines. This provision requires the Secretary of Transportation to review the GAO’s conclusions and transmit any appropriate suggested legislative changes. While we have a GAO report that supports changing the reinspection standard, the Congress has an obligation to verify the conclusions of the report and make sure that public safety is not compromised by any change in the law. I support further examination of this issue and look forward to gathering the facts.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for bringing this bipartisan bill to the Committee and I thank Subcommittee Ranking Member Boucher for his work as well.

We are also here today to mark up H.R. 5472, the “National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2006”. This legislation would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program that helps uninsured and underserved women gain access to screening services for the early detection of breast and cervical cancer.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of death among women in the United States. Screening for and early detection of breast and cervical cancer reduces death rates and greatly improves cancer patients’ survival. Unfortunately, there is a low rate of screening among women of certain racial and ethnic minorities and among under- or uninsured women, which creates a wide gap in health outcomes.

This program is vital to the health and well-being of women nationwide, and is supported by the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We should act quickly to reauthorize this life-saving legislation.

I urge my colleagues to support both of these bills.

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(Contact: Jodi Seth, 202-225-3641)