House Republicans are proposing pipeline legislation that safety advocates say would block or undermine needed reforms after several accidents over the past year.
The bill was posted online Wednesday by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The committee is tentatively scheduled to vote on the bill on Thursday.
The bill would prohibit federal regulators from requiring pipeline inspections in sparsely populated areas.
It would also bar regulators from setting industry standards on detecting leaks. It tells regulators to study both issues and come back with findings in a year or two.
Accident investigators say weak federal oversight contributed to a California gas explosion last year that killed eight people.
