[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 98 (Monday, June 23, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H5602-H5604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RELIABLE HOME HEATING ACT

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 2086) to address current emergency shortages of propane and other 
home heating fuels and to provide greater flexibility and information 
for Governors to address such emergencies in the future.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2086

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Reliable Home Heating Act''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS FOR 
                   PURPOSES OF TEMPORARILY EXEMPTING MOTOR 
                   CARRIERS PROVIDING EMERGENCY RELIEF FROM 
                   CERTAIN SAFETY REGULATIONS.

       (a) Defined Term.--In this Act, the term ``residential 
     heating fuel'' includes--
       (1) heating oil;
       (2) natural gas; and
       (3) propane.
       (b) Authorization.--If the Governor of a State declares a 
     state of emergency caused by a shortage of residential 
     heating fuel and, at the conclusion of the initial 30-day 
     emergency period (or a second 30-day emergency period 
     authorized under this subsection), the Governor determines 
     that the emergency shortage has not ended, any extension of 
     such state of emergency by the Governor, up to 2 additional 
     30-day periods, shall be recognized by the Federal Motor 
     Carrier Safety Administration as a period during which parts 
     390 through 399 of chapter III of title 49, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, shall not apply to any motor carrier or driver 
     operating a commercial motor vehicle to provide residential 
     heating fuel in the geographic area so designated as under a 
     state of emergency.
       (c) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
     amend section 390.23(a)(1)(ii) of title 49, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, to conform to the provision set forth in 
     subsection (b).
       (d) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed to modify the authority granted to the Federal 
     Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Field Administrator 
     under section 390.23(a) of title 49, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, to offer temporary exemptions from parts 390 
     through 399 of such title.

     SEC. 3. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION NOTIFICATION 
                   REQUIREMENT.

       The Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, 
     using data compiled from the Administration's Weekly 
     Petroleum Status Reports, shall notify the Governor of each 
     State in a Petroleum Administration for Defense District if 
     the inventory of residential heating fuel within such 
     district has been below the most recent 5-year average for 
     more than 3 consecutive weeks.

     SEC. 4. REVIEW.

       Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a 
     study of, and transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
     and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
     Representatives, a report on the impacts of safety from the 
     extensions issued by Governors according to this Act. In 
     conducting the study, the Secretary shall review, at a 
     minimum--
       (1) the safety implications of extending exemptions; and
       (2) a review of the exemption process to ensure clarity and 
     efficiency during emergencies.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.

[[Page H5603]]

                             General Leave

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous material on the bill before us.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of S. 2086, the Reliable Home Heating Act, which 
helps States better prepare and respond to regional supply disruptions 
or shortages of propane and other home heating fuels.
  The winter of 2013 and 2014 included extreme weather events that led 
to increased demand for propane, which is used for heating in 
approximately 12 million U.S. homes, and for other home heating fuels. 
The extreme weather conditions threatened the lives and livelihood of 
those with homes, farms, and businesses that depend on heat from 
propane and other home heating fuels.
  S. 2086 gives the Governor of a State the authority to extend 
regulatory exemptions during a state of emergency for two additional 
30-day periods, for a total of 90 days, without action from the Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
  The bill requires the Energy Information Administration to provide 
early warnings to Governors if the inventory of residential heating 
fuel falls below the most recent 5-year average for more than 3 
consecutive weeks. The bill also requires the Secretary of 
Transportation to conduct a study on the safety impacts of extending 
the regulatory exemptions.
  On March 21, 2014, the President signed H.R. 4076, the HHEATT Act of 
2014 introduced by Chairman Bill Shuster. It provided immediate relief 
to States impacted by the extreme weather from some Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety regulations until May 31 of this year.
  S. 2086 provides States the tools needed to address shortages of 
propane and other home heating fuels during future extreme weather 
events. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Senator Thune and Senator 
Klobuchar and is supported by the National Propane Gas Association, the 
New England Fuel Institute, the Illinois Petroleum Marketers 
Association, the Nebraska Petroleum Marketers Association, and the 
Petroleum Marketers Association of America.
  I urge all my colleagues to support S. 2086, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as described by my good friend and colleague, the 
chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, S. 2086 
automatically suspends Federal Motor Carrier Safety rules for up to 90 
days after a Governor of an affected State declares a state of 
emergency due to a shortage of residential heating fuel.
  Mr. Speaker, it is true that last winter there were parts of the 
United States which experienced extraordinarily cold temperatures and 
extreme winter weather. I hate to predict this, but until we do 
something about climate change, we are going to see these vast 
contrasts of the kind we have never experienced before. At that time, 
of course, if people are experiencing unusually cold weather, there is 
going to be a demand for propane and other home heating fuels.
  I also, of course, fully support maximum flexibility to ensure timely 
delivery of fuel to heat homes across the country, and certainly in a 
time of crisis. In fact, the House acted swiftly in March during that 
crisis to pass Chairman Shuster's HHEATT Act, H.R. 4076, but of course 
today most of the country is in the middle of a heat wave.
  Most of the States have their eyes looking elsewhere. They are 
watching the Congress to see when we will shore up the highway trust 
fund. They are running out of money. Already they have slowed up their 
investments. And of course, in a matter of just a few weeks, we will be 
running on empty on the highway trust fund.
  But I was not asked to come to the floor today to ensure that 
construction projects around the country employing hundreds of 
thousands of Americans will continue to be reimbursed so that workers 
can stay on the job and communities can upgrade their infrastructure. I 
was asked to come to the floor today to pass an exemption for home 
heating fuel, even though it is close to 90 degrees outside in much of 
the country.
  Last winter, during the actual time of emergency, FMCSA acted 
promptly to issue exemptions to allow truck drivers delivering home 
heating fuels to drive for additional hours to get supplies to 
customers as quickly as possible. Then they acted promptly to extend 
the exemptions after the initial 30-day period.
  Therefore, I must say I do not see any evidence of why this 
legislation is needed or warranted. Further, by automatically waiving 
motor carrier rules for up to 90 days, the legislation removes any 
safety consideration from the exemption decision.
  Mr. Speaker, our surface transportation system has pressing needs, as 
I speak, that require congressional action in the immediate term--
yesterday, perhaps. Instead, we keep coming to the floor to chip away 
at truck safety rules?
  I will not oppose the legislation under consideration, but I do 
believe calling up this legislation today is unnecessary and 
unproductive while we are staring at a deadline--and I must say, I 
think it is more aptly called an emergency every day--for replenishing 
the highway trust fund.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy), my well-respected colleague and 
the voice of northern Wisconsin.
  Mr. DUFFY. I appreciate the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't want to engage in a debate on global warming, 
especially after the winter we had in Wisconsin last winter. The bottom 
line is last winter it was incredibly cold in Wisconsin, and we saw 
home heating fuel prices for some of my constituents go up by four 
times, and that was if they were able to get home heating fuels.
  I don't think this is the end of it because there has been a war on 
energy, and that war on energy makes it more difficult for my 
constituents to access energy. I think we have to leave those debates 
aside right now and look at, in the current structure, can we have some 
reform that actually helps people across the country when these crises 
amount.
  What this does is doesn't make us look to the Department of 
Transportation--which, by the way, last winter they were quick to act. 
We don't have to look for Congress to have some quick legislation to 
minimize the trucking hours of service so we can get fuel into places 
like northern Wisconsin.
  What we are going to do is we are going to empower Governors. Let 
Governors notice when there is a crisis and let them move quickly so we 
can have one piece of the burden alleviated--the hours of service 
requirement--so our trucks can go to the places where we have home 
heating fuel and bring it to northern Wisconsin, we can bring in more 
supply.
  This was such a crisis, we have people in Wisconsin who have a hard 
time paying their energy bills when we have normal prices. But when 
prices go up by four times, or when it is 40 below and they can't get 
home heating fuel, this is a crisis. Any day we have to wait for the 
Department of Transportation or for Congress to act is a day that we 
have prices continuing to go up or we don't have access to our 
consumers, to our constituents, to our people.
  So I think this is a commonsense approach that leaves the global 
warming debate aside, the war on energy aside, and looks to our 
Governors, gives them authority to make decisions in this one small 
piece, to allow the hours of service waived in these emergencies so we 
can get fuel to places where they have a shortage.
  I think this makes sense. There will be plenty of time to debate the 
greater energy issues that we have in the country, and I think that is 
a debate that we have to have, but that is not the place here. The 
debate on global warming, we can have that, too, especially

[[Page H5604]]

after the winter we had in Wisconsin last winter.
  This makes sense. Let's empower Governors. Let's make sure we protect 
those Americans who live in the northern region of the country that 
rely on home heating fuel to heat their homes. Let's make sure we are 
going to allow them access, by way of their Governor, and the 
Governor's quick action.
  So I appreciate the House bringing up this action from Senator Thune, 
and I would urge its adoption.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I don't know about global warming, but 
virtually every scientist with any expertise agrees that climate change 
is occurring, not just in the colder parts of the country, but all over 
the world. The only debate now is whether it is too late and whether we 
can manage it, not whether it is occurring.
  If the gentleman thinks it was cold in Wisconsin last winter, let us 
keep delaying doing anything on climate change and let's see if he will 
be in a position to do anything for his constituents.
  I remind the Speaker that every time there has been a need, the 
Department of Transportation has not only acted, it has acted promptly. 
That is what an administrative agency is for. That is why we have 
administrative agencies. You can't keep running to the floor where you 
need two Houses in order to deal with a crisis.
  Nevertheless, we do not oppose this legislation, but we do think it 
is our duty to remind the House that there is an emergency pending and 
that, if we go home certainly for August recess without attending to 
it, the bottom will fall out of the highway trust fund.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 2086.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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