House OKs package of bills to boost energy security, auto safety

The U.S. House recently approved several Energy and Commerce Committee bills that aim to improve U.S. energy security, as well as automobile safety.

“This is a big win for the American people,” Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), said. “Working together, we developed solutions to improve vehicle safety for American families, ensure that we have the energy security to protect our grid, and modernize government for the 21st century. We have more work ahead, but American families can rest assured this holiday season that the safety of the American people is always our top priority.”

The measures, which all originated in the Energy and Commerce Committee, were approved in a legislative package, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

The bills include H.R. 1558, the Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act of 2015; H.R. 2675, the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act; H.R. 2271, the Critical Electric Infrastructure Protection Act; H.R. 2244, which would be used to implement a Strategic Transformer Reserve program; H.R. 3941, which would seek to add strength to the coordination and communication for the Department of Energy and first-responders; and H.R. 3923, which would commission a report to help build U.S. energy security valuation methods.