# 119-s-2979: PHMSA Voluntary Information Sharing Act

119-s-2979, PHMSA Voluntary Information Sharing Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2979
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2979
- Congress: 119
- Title: PHMSA Voluntary Information Sharing Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-10-07
- Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**This bill would create a confidential voluntary pipeline information‑sharing system (VIS) to collect de‑identified safety data and share lessons learned to improve the safety of gas and hazardous‑liquid pipelines.** It centers on secure data analysis, legal protections for contributors, and a public‑private governing board to turn shared data into safety recommendations. - Operators and workers would be able to voluntarily submit integrity data, accident and near‑miss lessons, and technology practices with promises of confidentiality and limited discovery protections. Submissions are allowed only with operator authorization and generally cannot be used in litigation except for narrow exceptions like criminal violations. - Safety advocates, researchers, State and Tribal safety authorities, and standards bodies would get de‑identified analyses via Issue Analysis Teams and annual public reports to help identify trends and remediation measures. The Governing Board can approve public reports that include de‑identified examples. - A 15‑member Governing Board with triad co‑chairs would run VIS, appoint a Third‑Party Data Manager for de‑identification and analytics, and set data rules. The bill would authorize $5 million per year for 2024–2027 to fund VIS. *This bill would authorize $5.0 million per year for fiscal years 2024–2027, totaling $20.0 million, to establish and operate VIS.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New voluntary pipeline safety system: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create a confidential, voluntary information sharing system for pipeline safety. The Secretary would have to make the system operational within 1 year. A 15‑member Governing Board would be set up within 180 days to hire a data manager and oversee the system. The Board and…
- New pipeline fee for safety system: cost, low. If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary collect an extra $5 million a year under existing pipeline fee authority for each fiscal year 2024 through 2027. That totals $20 million authorized over four years. The bill would also direct the Secretary to seek sustainable funding, including public‑pr…
- Strong privacy rules for shared pipeline data: mixed, low. If enacted, VIS information that is not public would be kept confidential and generally exempt from FOIA. The Board (or Administrator under Board rules) could release only de‑identified data when needed to show safety findings. VIS data generally could not be used in lawsuits or discovery, with exc…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-4498: ABLE Tomorrow Act
- 119-s-933: NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-2354: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-2979 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2979)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-4498: ABLE Tomorrow Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4498)
- [119-s-933: NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-933)
- [119-s-2354: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2354)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2979 (as of 2026-09-10).