The Compressed Gas Association is actively engaging Congress in support of the bipartisan Pro Codes Act, legislation designed to preserve the long-standing public-private partnership that underpins America’s codes and standards system.
Last month, Laura Brumsey attended the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet hearing titled “Protecting U.S. Leadership in Codes Development and Enhancing Public Access.” The April 21 hearing examined the role of privately developed, consensus-based standards and the importance of balancing meaningful public access with the copyright protections that allow standards development organizations to sustainably develop, maintain, and update critical technical documents.
Consensus-based codes and standards play a vital role in public safety while saving taxpayers the substantial cost of government-developed regulations. These documents must continuously evolve to address emerging technologies, operational changes, and new safety risks across industry sectors.
The Compressed Gas Association strongly supports the Pro Codes Act and believes the legislation is essential to protecting the integrity, independence, and sustainability of standards development organizations whose work directly contributes to the safe production, storage, transportation, and use of industrial, medical, and specialty gases.
The Pro Codes Act also helps ensure that regulators, industry professionals, first responders, and the public can rely on authoritative, up-to-date, and technically complete standards. When standards become fragmented, outdated, or are accessed through unofficial or incomplete versions, the risk of misapplication increases—potentially undermining both safety outcomes and regulatory intent.
To support advancement of the legislation, Compressed Gas Association is actively:
- Engaging congressional offices to explain the real-world safety and economic impacts of standards development in the industrial gases sector;
- Coordinating with coalition partners and peer organizations to present a unified voice in support of the legislation; and
- Informing and mobilizing CGA members to reinforce the importance of this issue through their own government affairs and stakeholder outreach efforts.
Compressed Gas Association will continue monitoring congressional activity surrounding the Pro Codes Act and advocating for policies that sustain a strong, credible, and globally respected U.S. standards system—one that protects safety, supports innovation, and serves the public interest.