By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
Rep. Tom MacArthur (R, NJ-03) is moving to attack the Northeastern United States’s artificially-high natural gas prices, Save Jerseyans, championing legislation that he hopes will improve an outdated energy infrastructure right as the cost of cooling New Jersey homes is set for a summer spike.
It’s advancing. On Thursday morning, the freshman congressman announced that the House Natural Resources Committee will take up H.R. 2295 this week. The “National Energy Security Corridors Act” would amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the pipeline permitting process by empowering the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to identify ten natural gas pipelines corridors on eastern federal lands. Currently, Congressional approval is required for each and every project.
“People and businesses all along the East Coast, especially in South Jersey, are paying too much to heat their homes with natural gas in the winter. Even the President has called for increased energy infrastructure in our country to help lower those energy costs. My bill would do just that,” MacArthur said. “By streamlining the permitting process for new natural gas pipelines on federal lands, we’ll create jobs, update our outdated energy infrastructure, and bring our American energy policy into the 21st century.”
The proposal, distinguishable from the regrettably mixed-support for pipeline expansion inside the Garden State, enjoys broad support from business leaders and labor unions alike (which isn’t surprising given the positive reaction to Keystone XL pipeline fight). MacArthur and his co-sponsor Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) are hopeful that President Obama’s own remarks about energy infrastructure translates to a signature.
Seeing is believing with this POTUS. Mark-up by the full committee is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, June 11th at 10:00 AM. We’ll keep you in the loop…
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