Congressman Mullin Supports Solution to Propane Crisis

Press Release

Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-2) today helped address the current propane crisis affecting the Second District and the nation as a whole. Mullin cosponsored H.R. 4076, the Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation (HHEATT) Act of 2014 which passed the House and now heads to the Senate.

"The bitter cold has caused an unwelcome rise in heating costs, resulting in financial strain for individuals and organizations across Oklahoma's 2nd District," said Mullin. "Today we worked to ensure the issues with heating fuel transportation and distribution are resolved and relief is finally available to thousands of Americans."

Last month the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), through an extension of an emergency declaration, eased the federal hours-of-service regulations for areas of the country critically affected by propane shortages. This allowed commercial trucks to quickly transport the much needed propane to cities and states that were in desperate need. Even though the FMCSA emergency declaration covers Oklahoma, it was only extended to March 1, 2014.

Rather than continually operating on 30-day emergency extensions, the HHEAT Act extends the emergency declaration and eases the hours-of-service regulations until May 31, 2014.

"Large numbers of people being unable to heat their homes becomes a public safety issue, and we had to provide certainty to those in need of heat for their homes and businesses," added Mullin.

Extremely cold temperatures caused a spike in demand earlier this winter. Additionally, the high use of propane for grain drying last fall depleted some of the inventory prior to the onset of winter, and the exporting of more than 20 percent of the country's propane caused a shortage.

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