Representative Jim Bridenstine (R-1st Dist.) strenuously objected by letter to the Obama Administration’s “war on energy” executed most recently by the Department of Transportation (DOT) that has proposed a rule to dramatically hinder crude oil transport by rail. The rule would severely limit throughput, impose huge costs on the industry, and severely restrict transport capacity.

Bridenstine said, “True to form in the Obama Administration, the rule attacks the industry without attacking the root cause of problems. A study of freight derailments in the last decade found that broken rails or track welds were by far the leading cause of derailments. The proposed rule largely neglects addressing the condition of the rails. Furthermore, the Administration has refused to approve construction of the pipelines that would alleviate crude rail transport. Pipeline transportation has long proven to be the cheapest, most efficient crude transport mode.

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