GOP bill gets construction of natural gas pipelines completed

U.S. Reps. Carol Miller (R-WV) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) on March 29 offered legislation to ensure that bureaucratic red tape and lawsuits would no longer hold up the completion of natural gas pipelines like the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Rep. Miller sponsored the Complete American Pipelines Act of 2023, H.R. 2384, with two GOP original cosponsors, including Rep. Reschenthaler. If enacted, H.R. 2384 would lower energy costs by ending judicial review for legacy projects and providing jurisdiction to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, according to the text of the bill.

“The Completing American Pipelines Act will finish projects, like the Mountain Valley Pipeline, that have been held up by the radical, left-wing courts and will implement a needed check on our judicial system,” Rep. Miller said. “The American people are depending on domestic energy production so energy prices will finally go down. I look forward to the Completing American Pipelines Act coming to the House floor shortly to unleash American energy.”

Once completed, the under-construction Mountain Valley Pipeline will send natural gas from West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to North Carolina and South Carolina. Completion of the pipeline has been held up for several years by lawsuits.

“The construction of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline equates to more good-paying jobs, lower energy costs, and increased energy independence for Pennsylvania and the entire region,” Rep. Reschenthaler said. “I thank Rep. Carol Miller for her diligence in ensuring this project — which is already 94 percent completed — can be seen through to the finish line for our shared states’ benefit. It’s past time to cut the liberal red tape and complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline once and for all.”

H.R. 2384 has been referred to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.