Today, the House voted on the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act, a bill that would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve applications for natural gas pipelines within 12 months. The bill would also require other related agencies to approve related permits within 90 days, with the approval becoming automatic if the deadline is missed.
The legislation is DOA in the Senate, particularly because the administration opposes it:
"The bill's requirements could force 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," the administration said this week. "For these reasons, the bill may actually delay projects or lead to more project denials, undermining the intent of the legislation."
The bill
passed 252 to 165, with 26 Democrats crossing party lines to support it.
Who were those 26?
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Sanford Bishop (GA-02)
Bob Brady (PA-01)
Cheri Bustos (IL-17)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Bill Enyart (IL-12)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Joe Garcia (FL-26)
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01)
Sean Maloney (NY-18)
Jim Matheson (UT-02)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Patrick Murphy (FL-18)
Gloria Negrette McLeod (CA-35)
Bill Owens (NY-21)
Ed Perlmutter (CO-07)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Nick Rahall (WV-03)
Cedric Richmond (LA-02)
Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Terri Sewell (AL-07)
Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09)
Filemon Vela (TX-34)
The House also voted down five Democratic amendments.
Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-20) offered an amendment to require that natural gas pipeline applications include information about how the applicant will ensure methane emissions will be minimized. It failed 183 to 233.
2 Republicans supported it: Chris Gibson (NY-19) and Richard Hanna (NY-22).
10 Democrats joined the GOP in voting against it:
John Barrow (GA-12)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Al Green (TX-09)
Gene Green (TX-29)
Jim Matheson (UT-02)
Bill Owens (NY-21)
Ed Perlmutter (CO-07)
Gary Peters (MI-14)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Filemon Vela (TX-34)
Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14) offered an amendment to strike the language requiring an approval if a deadline were missed. It failed 184 to 233.
8 Democrats joined the GOP in voting against it:
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Jim Matheson (UT-02)
Bill Owens (NY-21)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-14) offered an amendment to allow the 12-month clock to start after FERC has considered and responded to state or local objections to a pipeline project.
It failed 183 to 236.
Two Republicans—Chris Gibson (NY-19) and Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11)—supported it.
13 Democrats joined the GOP in voting against it:
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Sanford Bishop (GA-02)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Joe Garcia (FL-26)
Gene Green (TX-29)
Jim Matheson (UT-02)
Ed Perlmutter (CO-07)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Filemon Vela (TX-34)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) offered an amendment to delay implementation of the bill until the sequestration cuts were lifted. It failed 175 to 243.
19 Democrats joined the GOP in voting against it:
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Joe Courtney (CT-02)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Joe Garcia (FL-26)
Al Green (TX-09)
Gene Green (TX-29)
Jim Himes (CT-04)
Dan Maffei (NY-24)
Jim Matheson (UT-02)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Patrick Murphy (FL-18)
Bill Owens (NY-21)
Ed Perlmutter (CO-07)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Filemon Vela (TX-34)
Rep. John Dingell (MI-12) offered an amendment to replace the bill with a requirement that the Government Accountability Office complete a study on what delays are expected. It failed 175 to 239.
14 Democrats joined the GOP in voting against it:
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Joe Garcia (FL-26)
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01)
Jim Matheson (UT-02)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Patrick Murphy (FL-18)
Bill Owens (NY-21)
Ed Perlmutter (CO-07)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09)