H.R. 9838, Pipeline Industry Deregulation & Eminent Domain Acceleration. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a net cost — and names who bears it.
H.R. 9838 · Net cost
What it does
This bill allows the President to designate interstate oil and natural gas pipelines as 'national security' projects, which then receive expedited federal approval through FERC while bypassing state, local, and tribal permitting entirely. Once designated, the pipeline company gains the power to seize private land through eminent domain with minimal notice, federal environmental reviews are deemed automatically approved if not completed within 180 days, and the President can waive compliance with the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act if he deems delay 'unacceptable.'
The analysis names oil and natural gas pipeline operators — and 2 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The cost
The 180-day federal review auto-approval and 60-day state/local auto-approval create a de facto approval-by-silence regime; agencies that lack resources to meet artificial deadlines will see their authority nullified without affirmative action.
The analysis put a critical warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 35%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by Ken Calvert. Cosponsored by Dale Strong, Darrell Issa, David Valadao and James Gallagher.