Congress Must Defend Pipeline Safety Transparency and Ethics Oversight

I am writing to urge you to support and defend ongoing efforts to bring transparency, ethical accountability, and robust oversight to the federal agencies responsible for pipeline safety. Recent investigative reporting and congressional inquiries have raised serious concerns about senior pipeline safety officials who previously worked closely with the oil and gas industry and are now overseeing safety regulations, enforcement actions, and rulemakings that directly affect that same industry. These concerns are not about partisan politics — they are about public trust, regulatory integrity, and the safety of communities across the country. Pipelines carrying oil, gas, and hazardous materials run through neighborhoods, farmland, waterways, and tribal lands. Weakening safety rules, reducing enforcement, or quietly shelving legally required safety updates puts lives, property, and the environment at risk. Americans deserve confidence that federal safety regulators are acting independently and solely in the public interest — not advancing the priorities of former employers or industry trade groups. Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure this independence. Efforts by lawmakers to request records, review communications with industry groups, and examine potential conflicts of interest are essential to restoring public confidence. These transparency efforts should be fully supported, not obstructed or dismissed. I urge you to: • Support full transparency and disclosure regarding communications between regulators and industry representatives • Enforce existing federal ethics rules and close any loopholes that undermine public trust • Conduct thorough oversight hearings where appropriate • Strengthen, not weaken, pipeline safety laws and enforcement authority Pipeline safety should never be compromised by secrecy, deregulation without accountability, or regulatory capture. Congress must stand clearly on the side of public safety, ethical governance, and transparent oversight. Thank you for your attention to this critical issue and for your service.