Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety and Oversight Improvements Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1182) to require the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations relating to the approval of foreign manufacturers of cylinders, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 1182.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, foreign-produced gas cylinders from countries like China have entered the United States market despite failing to meet Department of Transportation safety standards and specifications.

In addition to threatening public safety, these dangerous imported cylinders take market share from the gas cylinder manufacturers in the United States.

H.R. 1182 is bipartisan legislation that will improve safety while also providing a level playing field for American cylinder manufacturers. Importantly, this legislation will apply the same safety standards to foreign-produced cylinders as those manufactured in the United States.

Finally, the bill will increase the capacity of PHMSA to conduct foreign inspections without cost to the United States taxpayers by allowing for more adequate cost recovery from applicants.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1182 will better protect the public from the dangers of poorly manufactured and mislabeled compressed gas cylinders.

This legislation will also better ensure fair competition for American manufacturers and workers.

Further, H.R. 1182 improves transparency by requiring all applications to be subject to public review and input. It ensures that the United States regulators have access to any and all pertinent information regarding applicants.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Balderson) for leading this important bipartisan effort.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety and Oversight Improvements Act.

Mr. Speaker, for far too long, manufacturers in Ohio and across the Nation have had to compete on an unfair playing field. This bill restores fairness for American producers by cracking down on the import of counterfeit and dangerous gas cylinders into the United States.

My bill also holds foreign manufacturers to the same safety and inspection standards that domestic manufacturers are already required to meet.

Simply put, there is no reason that the United States Government should make it easier to manufacture these critical products abroad than it is to produce them here at home.

To be sold in interstate commerce, the Department of Transportation requires compressed gas cylinders to be manufactured to specific standards and properly stamped. Currently, the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, inspects facilities in the United States at least once per year to ensure compliance with safety requirements. However, for cylinders manufactured in foreign countries and then sold and imported into the United States, PHMSA only inspects those facilities once every 5 years.

Over time, certain foreign producers have deliberately evaded safety and regulatory standards to gain a competitive advantage over domestic producers, potentially jeopardizing public safety in the process.

This bill ensures that PHMSA has the necessary tools to conduct more frequent inspections at foreign manufacturing facilities and to hold bad actors accountable.

I thank my friend, the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, for his support in moving this bill forward. I also thank my colleague from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi), my co- lead on this legislation, for his partnership and commitment to advancing this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1182, the Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety and Oversight Improvements Act.

The bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to advance a rulemaking to make the standards for foreign manufacturers of compressed gas cylinders sold in the U.S. the same as standards for the domestic makers of these same cylinders.

Compressed gas cylinders are used every day in life for medical, auto, defense, oil and gas, residential, firefighting, and other purposes.

In January, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a safety advisory notice regarding unsafe cylinders being sold online to consumers, shippers, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning folks. These were not manufactured to American or even United Nations standards and lacked certification markings.

Using these unsafe compressed gas cylinders could cause significant damage to property, physical injury, or even death. PHMSA determined that the unmarked empty cylinders being sold in the United States on major commercial websites are primarily manufactured by non-U.S. companies. This bill requires a consistent standard for both domestic and foreign manufacturers of compressed gas cylinders.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bipartisan bill and urge my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will close by saying that I support the Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety and Oversight Improvements Act. I encourage my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back the balance of my time.