Rep. Kelly Voices Support for Emergency Heating for Pennsylvanians on House Floor
Supports Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation (HHEATT) Act
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (PA-03) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday in support of H.R. 4076, the Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation (HHEATT) Act of 2014, to address shortages and interruptions in the availability of propane and other home heating fuels in the United States. The legislation would guarantee an emergency exemption provided by the Department of Transportation – until May 31, 2014 – that provides regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle operations providing direct assistance supporting the delivery of propane and home heating fuels.
Highlights from floor speech:
“I rise today in strong support of this Act, and it’s really just commonsense, is it not? I think it best exemplifies how America handles crises — they adjust; they make an adjustment.”
“This certainly could be called a ‘heated debate’ because we’re trying to make sure that our constituents have that ability to heat their homes during one of the longest winters. We don’t use the term polar vortex back in Pennsylvania — we just call it winter.”
“It’s been a long, long winter and we’re looking at the adjustment that would take place. And it’s just about transportation. It’s about allowing these [transporters] to deliver this energy, this propane, to these homes. In Pennsylvania we have over 180,000 people who rely on the delivery of this product to keep their homes heated. That’s not a difficult thing to understand. And I think for this body, to be able to adjust on the run … to make sure that our constituents have the ability to heat their homes — this is so fundamentally basic and just commonsense.”
“It makes sense to everybody back where I live as they bundle up and continue to worry about when spring’s finally going to get here. We’re able to release that [propane] now, change the transportation laws a bit, just so they can get there. And we’re saying, let’s do it to May 31st. Let’s not do it the way we’re doing it now. Chances are by May 31st, that crisis will be gone. But the ability to get propane to their homes is very critical right now.”
“We’re doing things that make sense for the American people. Every single American citizen benefits from this.”
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