CLAIM: Citing free speech and assembly, Congressional Democrats are criticizing a Department of Transportation proposal to promote pipeline safety while cracking down on violent and illegally disruptive protests of pipeline construction projects.
“This provision is a clear infringement on the basic right of speech and assembly and a poorly veiled effort to undermine the ability of Native and Indigenous communities to advocate for themselves and their tribal lands,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said in a statement, as reported by Politico.
A spokesman for House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone claims the legislative proposal would be “used as …