Pipeline. 29 democrats joined 241 republicans in voting in favor. It now heads to the president but the white house has repeatedly said it will be vetoed. Members debated the bill for a little over an hour. 1 the keystone x. L. Pipeline act. S. 1 passed the senate by a bipartisan vote of 6236. This bill is based on h. R. 3 which last month the house passed by a bipartisan vote of 266153. S. 1 does not change any of the house provisions regarding the keystone x. L. Pipeline. So here we are again on the floor with a bill that has been approved on a bipartisan basis three times in the last four months. Its time for the president to approve the Keystone Pipeline. His own administration found the pipeline would have minimal impact on the environment. Congress has shown that theres republican and democratic support for the pipeline and the last remaining excuse for delay, pending litigation in nebraska, has been resolved. I hope the president reconsiders his veto threat on this bill. I think he should sign this bill because we all agree we need to invest in our nations infrastructure and pipelines are critical to the economy. Americas Pipeline Network is immense. 2. 6 million miles of pipe, transporting Natural Gas Oil and other hazardous materials. Pipelines transport more Energy Product than any other mode of transportation in this country. Keystone will be a critical addition to the Pipeline Network, increasing our nations supply of oil and enhancing our Energy Independence. This project will create goodpaying american jobs. As the president has stated, first class infrastructure attracts first class jobs. Indeed, six unions representing over three million workers support this project. Including the United Association of plumbers and pipe fitters, the International Union of operatinging engineers the labors International Union of north america, the International Brotherhood of electrical workers, the building and Construction Trade and the teamsters. Its simply time to move forward on this probably. So i urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for s. 1 and i urge the president to sign this bill and allow infrastructure to be built in this country. With that, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from oregon is recognized. Mr. Defazio i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Defazio for anyone watching this debate for the 11th time, who isnt familiar with the substantive reasons to oppose this legislation, i would refer them to my earlier remarks numerous times on the floor of the house. Because in the interest of time im not going to repeat them. I am going to say that i am pleased that this is actually a big step forward for the other side of the aisle in the house. Because there are two critical changes that the senate made which go to, you know, a raging debate on the republican side of the aisle here in the house. And that is whether or not Climate Change is real or a hoax. So by voting for this bill today, you are going to endorse language saying that Climate Change is real and not a hoax. I think thats tremendous progress for the republican side of the aisle, who i expect will be supporting this bill, to accept the reality of Climate Change and im thrilled that thats in there and their votes will be reflected in the record as endorsing that language. Secondly, the other one of the other substantive issues weve raised numerous times is that this Foreign Corporation will not, because of a bizarre ruling by the Internal Revenue service, will not be paying into the trust fund which goes to mitigate pipeline spills and breaks and cleanups. The Oil Spill Liability trust fund. And we have offered that as a motion to recommit numerous times here on the floor thinking it would be a reasonable thing to level the Playing Field between u. S. Producers shipping oil and Canadian Companies shipping oil, which is going to be exported from the United States perhaps after its refined. And so, again, this will be a shift on the republican side of the aisle because you will be voting for language that says congress should approve a bill to ensure that all forms of oil are subject to the per barrel excise tax associated with the Oil Spill Liability trust fund. Which would be i think the first time the republican side has endorsed any sort well, no, there was the tax increase for inland waterway users buried in that bill in deals. But this will be the second time ics he have voted to increase a tax and im really thrilled to see that and the fact that we will be writing that in equity and the republicans will be endorsing something weve offered numerous times on the floor. The third thing which really isnt an improvement, is some senators stuck in language saying that when this Foreign Corporation takes american citizens private property against their will they have to follow the constitution. Well, unfortunately because of the decision which we did try nam of years ago to clarify try a number of years ago to clarify and overturn, the Supreme Court in its wisdom has ruled that you can yield the right for Economic Development purposes to a private entity to take peoples private property. We are going one step or you are going one step further here by actually giving that authority to a Foreign Corporation. As far as i know the first time in the history of the United States that a Foreign Corporation will have the right to take private property from an american citizen against their will. So that isnt an improvement, just saying follow the constitution. But the other two are great. Climate change ex exist exist, youre endorsing that by voting for this bill, and we should increase taxes and impose taxes on the tar stands oil, again i think a big breakthrow for the other Tar Sands Oil, again, i think a big breakthrough for the other side. I will not be voting for the bill. These things will be, you know, worthy of noting. With that i would am i reserving . Im now asking unanimous consent that the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Pallone, be allowed to control my time in addition to the time controlled by the committee on energy and commerce. Good luck. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentleman from new jersey reserves and the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Shuster madam speaker i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, the chairman of the subcommittee on railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials, mr. Denham. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Denham thank you. I rise in support of senate bill 1 the keystone x. L. Pipeline which passed bipartisan not only in the house it was 266 votes but also bipartisan in the senate with 62 votes. As chairman shuster noted, this is a jobs bill that will create jobs, enhance our energy innocence and strengthen our National Independence and strengthen our national economy. This pipeline will transport over 800,000 barrels of oil per day. Thats according to the department of energy. It also will help create goodpaying jobs, over 40,000 jobs according to the state department. We held a hearing in our subcommittee last week regarding the need for more transportation and transportation and infrastructure for energy projects. One witness testified we will need 12,000 to 15000 miles of new pipeline over the next five to 10 years. Keystone x. L. Is just one of those new projects. This is the most studied pipeline in our history. Theres no reason to continue to stall this project. This is a safe project. America has 2. 6 million miles of pipeline, providing extremely safe way to transport Energy Products. The Keystone Pipeline will be built as the safest pipeline ever with 95 special mitigation measures, including nearly 60 recommended by the department of transportation. The most extensively studied and vetted pipeline project in the history of our country and finally as amended in the senate this bill will make important strides toward Greater Energy efficiency. In conclusion, the keystone x. L. Has been under review for over six years now. And debated and voted on in the house and Senate Numerous times. We need these jobs. We need this energy. We need it now. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from pennsylvania reserves, the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Pallone were voting once again to grant approval to keystone x. L. This is the fifth time were voting on helping this Canadian Company since the republicans took control of the house. Each Energy Related decision we make can have longterm consequencers in environment, our economy and national security. The president has made clear hell veto this legislation so we should stop wasting our time on it. The senate added many provisions to this version of the keystone bill, some of the provisions on Energy Efficiency are provisions i and many of my colleagues can support and have supported in the past. Those provisions should be considered separately preferly as standalone bills in the house and senate. They should not be held hots taj by another doomed key stobe approval bill and they in no way come close to offsetting the arm that would be caused by congress deeming the Keystone Pipeline approve wesmed dont need this canadian Tar Sands Oil. Oil prices are at their lowest level in five years and gas prices are down too. Last week e. P. A. Noted low oil prices means aprufle of the Keystone Pipeline could be a critical factor in the economic viability of canadian tar sands expansion. Tar sands are among dirtiest and p most carbon intensive of all fossil fuels. It will create a dependence on tar sands fuel, reducing the Carbon Pollution reduceing the fight against Carbon Pollution. If this pipeline spills like ambridge pipeline in michigan, the heavy tar sands that flow on the ground, into our groundwaters and surface waters will be harder to clean up than regular oil. Unfortunately if there is such a spill, it will be cleaned up at u. S. Taxpayer expense and the polluter wont have to pay. Why is that . Because tar sands are not considered crude oil for purposes of contributing to the Oil Spill Liability trust fund. Now we have repeatedly pointed out this egregious and unjustified loophole to the majority and weve repeatedly received assurances it would be addressed. Yet it has still not been addressed. In fact, three times in this chamber alone we have offered amendments to solve this problem. But the republican majority voted each one of them down. Now theres a new sense of the Senate Language that was put into the bill by the senate that promises further action on this issue but its no substitute for real legislation to protect the american taxpayer from the financial consequences of tar sands spills. Make no mistake this language this sense of congress or sense of the senate, does nothing to change the equation and end the Tar Sands Oil subsidy. Recently, the president stood in this chamber and noted that 21st century businesses need 21st century infrastructure. He said that we should, and i quote, set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Yet here we are again voting on that single oil pipeline. Its my hope, madam speaker that were nearing the end of this long cycle of futile votes to grant special treatment to this single pipeline and its my hope that sooner rather than later we can get back to trying to find agreement on a modern Energy Policy, one that is sustainable one that helps the u. S. Economy and one that moves us forward, not backward, in the fight against Climate Change. In the meantime, i urge my colleagues once again to vote no on this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. It is my pleasure to yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, ms. Walters. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Walters ms. Walters six years later, the Keystone Pipeline is still await ig aprufle. What does construction of the Keystone Pipeline mean for our nation . Over 40,000 jobs, Energy Security and increased economic growth. Mrs. Walters furthermore the state Department Found that construction of the Keystone Pipeline would pose little environmental risk. In fact, there would be greater environmental and safety risk from not building the pipeline. Despite the obvious benefits and bipartisan support, the president has continued to block keystones approval. Now he threatens to veto the bill effectively kill thinking entire keystone program. After sixplus years, the president has run out of excuses. Its clear that the construction of the Keystone Pipeline is in our nations best interests and we cannot afford to delay any longer. Madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from new jersey is recognized. Mr. Pallone thank you, madam speaker. I want i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Pallone i wanted to reference again this provision in the bill that the senate put in the senate bill contains a provision boldly stating that, quote, Climate Change is real and not a hoax. I couldnt agree more with that but lets be clear, the Senate Republican majority in the same breath rejected another amendment stating that Climate Change is caused by human activity. And the senators who voted against those amendments are out of step with the American People include manage republicans. In a recent poll an overwhelming majority of americans, including almost half of republicans, stated support for Government Action to fight Climate Change and disagreed with those who question that Climate Change is caused by human activity. Many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have become fond of saying they are not scientists and i think that we can generally agree that thats true, even though they admit theyre not scientists, it doesnt stop them questioning the science. Im not a scientist either but when actual scientists speak and say theres an overwhelming body of evidence that manmade Climate Change is real and happening now, i listen to the actual scientists and saying that you are not a scientist in my opinion is just a way of dodging the facts. When i go home to new jersey, my district is probably more impacted by Superstorm Sandy than any other district, i dont see any disagreement between democrats and republicans in my district. It doesnt matter whether theyre state legislators or county legislators mayors, i have almost as Many Republican mayors and councilmen and women as i do democrats but all of them agree that Climate Change is real and caused by human activity because theyre listening to the scientists. And they understand that science is important and that we should Pay Attention to it system of in any event, the sense of the Senate Language affirming that Climate Change is not a hoax does not fict any does not fix any of the problems with the bill before us and it doesnt mean that voting yes will help us in the vote against Climate Change. Voting yes will move us backward in that fight because one of the Major Concerns i have and opponents have of keystone is because it will exploit tar sands, it will actually increase Greenhouse Gases significantly. And its very possible that without the pipeline, that those tar sands will simply not be exploited. I will reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey reserves, the gentleman from pennsylvania. I yield one minute to the gentleman from michigan mr. Moolenaar. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Moolenaar the Keystone Pipeline will provide us with jobs and fuel. It will carry more than 30 million gallons of oil a day. Its been concluded the pipeline is the the safist way to transport it to market. Keystone will support job creation by moving oil to american refineries where American Workers will process it. Thousands of products use regular fined oil oil are manufactured and purchased by americans every day. This pipeline has the potential to make those products less expensive. The hose has passed keystone policy time and again. 10 times in fact the house has stood with the American Workers and consumers. Today we stand with hardworking americans looking for goodpaying jobs. Today we stand with American Consumers who will see more of their hardherbed money go further at the gas pump. Keystone helps secure our countrys Energy Independence lowers costs for every american and supports jobs without raising taxes or adding to our debt. Its time to pass this bill and i urge my colleagues to vote yes. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from new jersey is recognized. Mr. Pa loin i yield myself sum mr. Pallone i yield myself such time as i may consume. I wanted to make this impact about this point about the impact of low oil prices on keystone and exploitation of tar sands. The price of oil has dropped precipitously in the last few months and is expected to say in the to stay in the 65 to 70 a barrel range for the foreseeable future. Just last month it dipped below 50 per barrel. And gas prices have fallen below 2 a gallon in some areas. This is good news for the American Consumers but bad news for tar sands productions who face rising construction costs. At a time when tar sands are less profitable, the state department concluded the construction of keystone would play a pivotal role in tar Sands Development and last week e. P. A. Made clear that the low oil prices means that the pipelines impact on oil could be substantial. On the republican side when i was in rules, they said, if you dont build the pipeline this Tar Sands Oil will be transported by royal or by some other means system of whats the difference if we build keystone . The bottom line is its very likely that with low oil prices, it wouldnt be the investment in tar sands if it had to be transported by means other than the pipeline would not be there. And therefore the argument is made obviously, that without keystone, you might not be exploiting these tar sands and wouldnt increase the Greenhouse Gases and force the major change in climate that would result from it. So you know again, the point that the e. P. A. Is making with low oil prices the decision to approve the oil pipeline could be a factor in increased Greenhouse Gas emissions. The president and the Congress Need to look at this development carefully and assess its impact. One of the reasons, and there are others, like the impact of the pipeline if there was a spill on groundwater and other things, but this is one of the reasons why the president has said that you know, the decision of whether this is in the National Interests still has to be weighed and it shouldnt be dictated to by congress and deemed approved because the Canadian Company or others think this is appropriate. This is something that the president needs to continue to review as he has said. Thats why he is vetoing the bill and thats again, madam speaker why were wasting our time today. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Dent thank you, madam speaker. Its now my pleasure to yield one minute or longer to the gentleman from virginia, mr. Mooney. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mooney on a variety of issues from the Environmental Protection agencys war on coal jobs in West Virginia to the designation of anwr in alaska as permanent wilderness, the president has used unilateral executive action to stifle domestic Energy Production. It is time for the president to stop pandering to radical environmentalists and do what is right for hardworking american families. The Business Community organized labor, bipartisan majorities in congress, and a clear majority of the American People support construction of the keystone x. L. Pipeline. The president s own state department concluded that the project is in the best economic interests of our nation and that the project would have no impact on Carbon Emissions and no negative impact on the environment. Mr. President , enough is enough. It is time mr. President , enough is enough. Its time to create jobs and reduce Energy Prices for hardworking families. Sign this bill into law. It is time to build the keystone x. L. Pipeline. I ask that you do this not only for the Hardworking Taxpayers i represent in West Virginia, but for all americans struggling in this economy. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from new jersey is recognized. Mr. Pallone thank you madam speaker. I again yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Pallone again i listened to the previous speaker on the republican side and i dont understand how he can say that the president is trying to, you know prevent domestic production. Domestic Oil Production is at a 29year high. Whether its oil or natural gas, weve never seen production of this magnitude. Under this administration, theres been such an increase in both oil and natural Gas Production by comparison to any previous administration, as long as ive been here. To suggest otherwise it boggles the mind in my opinion. I wanted to go back to the another issue that were concerned about in terms of the environment and why this why keystone needs to continue to be reviewed by the president and not just deemed approved. And that has to do with, again, with oil spills and impact on aquifers. Again, our First Priority madam speaker, must be to ensure Public Safety. The proposed Keystone Pipeline is a massive project that would carry tar sands sludge throughout the middle of america. Even supporters agree that it should not be built until we have some assurance that it will be safe. And keystone poses real risks. Over the last few years a litany of tragedying failures have reinforced the need for Pipeline Safety standards. In 2011 another exxonmobil pipeline ruptured in montana spilling crude oil into the yellowstone river. The oil was carried hundreds of miles down the river threatening the livelihoods of ranchers. In july 2010, a pipeline carrying Tar Sands Oil ruptured in michigan. Over 800,000 of gallons flowed into the kalamazoo river. It has proven harder to clean up than conventional crude oil. Transcanada and its supporters have repeatedly assured the public and the congress that we shouldnt worry about this pipeline carrying tar sands sludge through the middle of america and across the aquifer. They say it will be ultrasafe stateoftheart pipeline. The problem, though, is that weve heard this before. Transcanadas first Keystone Pipeline, which brings canadian Tar Sands Oil to refineries in illinois and oklahoma, shouldnt inspire confidence. This was a brand new supposedly stateoftheart pipeline. It was predicted to spill no more than once every seven years. But in its first year of operation it reported 14 separate oil spills. The largest spill occurred on may 7 2011 when approximately 20000 gallons of oil erupted from the pipeline in north dakota. There was literally a 60foothigh geyser of oil. This spill was not detected by transcanada but was reported by a local farmer. In response to this spill and others, the Pipeline Safety Agency Issued a corrective action order temporarily shutting down the original Keystone Pipeline. The agency based this action on a finding that the continued operation of the pipeline without corrective action would be hazardous to Life Property and the environment. With this track record, we need a thorough review of whether the standards necessary to safely transport Tar Sands Oil are in place. And the proposed route of this tar sands pipeline would cross the aquifer. Millions of americans depend on this aquifer for their Drinking Water and for the livelihoods. If theres an oil spill, the consequences would be devastating to the americans who depend on this precious water resource. Again this is another reason why we shouldnt be approving this and deeming this pipeline approved. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey reserves his time. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Shuster thank you, madam speaker. Its now my pleasure to yield one minute to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Graves. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. Mr. Graves thank you madam speaker. I want to thank my soon to be friend from new jersey for bringing up the oil spill issue. In my home state of louisiana, we have hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil that are unaccounted for as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill. We have shore line that remain oiled as a result of an oil spill that happened over four years and this administration is doing absolutely nothing to hold the responsible parties accountable for moving that oil. To hide behind some of these issues such as the threat of oil spills is absolutely absurd when at the same time theyre not doing anything to protect the environment and hold responsible parties accountable. Secondly, theres nothing that this Pipeline Projects going to do to further threaten the environment. In fact, its going to make it worse if we dont build it. Because the oil will be transported by barge, by rail and other less safe means of transportation. We saw recently where the e. P. A. Released a letter contrary to what the state Department Found stating that this was going to cause a greater impact to Climate Change. Whenever the reality is this however, the reality is this pipeline does nothing to address the consumption of oil or increase consumption. Its an absurd approach. Lastly, id say that the speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. Mr. Graves thank you. Madam speaker, lastly ill just say that this president for years has embraced an alloftheabove energy strategy. All of the above. This pipeline fits that criteria. Its all of the above. Perhaps i misunderstood and they were talking geographically above. Its coming from canada. It fits that one too. Madam speaker, this project needs to move forward. Its been delayed far too long and all its going to do by not building this project is cause us to rely upon venezuela and other nonallies for energy to power this nations economy. Thank you, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from new jersey is recognized. Mr. Pallone thank you madam speaker. I yield now to the Ranking Member of the energy and power subcommittee, the gentleman from illinois, mr. Rush, such time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Rush thank you madam speaker. Madam speaker this is deja vu all over again. As for the umpteenth time, the Majority Party is trying to jam the Keystone Pipeline through this congress. Despite the fact that president obama has made it pretty clear to all who will listen that this bill is headed to a veto if it ever reaches his desk. Madam speaker, instead of going through the regular order and the committee process, and working on Bipartisan Legislation that will ultimately create hundreds of thousands of goodpaying american jobs, such as building up our infrastructure fixing our roads and bridges, and modernizing our energy grid instead of looking at the interest, the real interests of the American People and working to provide the American People muchneeded jobs, my friends on the other side of the aisle are repeatedly spent have repeatedly spent valuable time, time that this congress would never, ever see again, trying to grant a regulatory earmark to the Transcanada Corporation by short circuiting the normal permitting process and forcing president obamas hand. This is not a jobs bill. Madam speaker, we need a jobs bill. But where are the jobs in this bill . Every time we talk about jobs every time jobs is brought up on the floor of this house the republicans all run to one place, that all we need is to build the keystone x. L. Pipeline and that will solve americas jobs problem. I beg to differ with my friends on the other side of the aisle. The state department our state department consulted with transcanada and found out that the construction of this pipeline would directly result in about 4,000 jobs in the early stages just to build the pipeline. These jobs, madam speaker, would last no more than 12 months. 365 days of work provided to the American People. What kind of jobs bill are we trying to perpetrate on the American People . In addition mr. Speaker, madam speaker, by building the pipeline 42101 jobs will be created indirectly across the United States. After the pipeline is completed the real operation where the permanent jobs are, the real operation where the lasting jobs are, the jobs that will provide a future for the American Family College Education mortgages to pay for their homes put dinner on the table these jobs would only amount to about 35 permanent jobs in the nation. 35. A franchise burger joint on the corner will provide more permanent jobs than this whole keystone x. L. Pipeline is purported to do. Lets put these figures into perspective. In 2014 the u. S. Economy created nearly 50,000 jobs per week. 50000 per week. In 2014. 230,000 jobs per month. So even taking the most favorable estimates for all the indirect and direct jobs the keystone x. L. Pipeline will produce fewer jobs than the economy is already creating on its own in just seven days, in just one week. Taking the lowest estimate for the 35 permanent jobs again the keystone x. L. Pipeline will produce even fewer jobs in all of its massiveness and all of the hyperbole that comes from the other side, the Keystone Pipeline will produce fewer jobs than the economy is already creating in just one hour. In the next hour mr. Speaker, the American Economy will produce more jobs than the entire keystone x. L. Pipeline in all of its duration. This is not a jobs bill. Where are the priorities for the other side . Why are we wasting time on this . Let me remind my friends on the other side in just two weeks, just two weeks the Homeland Security department will run out of money. Putting all of the American People, our entire nation, at risk in just two weeks. Where are your priorities . Does that make more sense than wasting our time on creating 35 jobs, 35 permanent jobs . Were going to be out of this place at the end of the week. Wheres the priorities for American Security . Wheres the priority for us to spend our time . What are the priorities of the majority, if were going to waste our time, here we go again. Valuable time. Homeland security running out of money. Folks being laid off. Our borders are being compromiseed. Terrorists are going to have or could have a field day because we have not funded Homeland Security. And yet we are here wasting valuable time. Lets use this time to fund the department of Homeland Security and get off some of this nonsense that makes no sense at all. I cannot believe, mr. Speaker that the American People have sent us here to work on behalf of transcanada and to ignore the department of Homeland Security. I cant in my wildest imagination believe that they even know, that they could even imagine, that they could even think that we are here, Homeland Security, the department of Homeland Security on one side, keystone x. L. Pipeline on the other side, go figure. Wheres the priorities . Mr. Speaker this bill is unnecessary, this bill will be vetoed by president obama sent back here d. O. A. , and we will have far more important work that we should be doing on behalf of the American People. I urge all my colleagues to we should be spending valuable time on Homeland Security. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from new jersey reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Shuster before i yield time to the gentleman from tech as, i would like to remind, all infrastructure jobs are temporary and based on that argument we shouldnt build roads, highways, bridges or pipelines. All Infrastructure Construction jobs are temporary and i would like to remind my colleague, he voted against the appropriations bill to fund Homeland Security. With that, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas mr. Weber. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Weber i rise today in support of the keystone x. L. Pipeline act. It comes into my district on the gulf coast of texas. Over six years has past since the permit was applied for. The ipad wasnt introduced at that time. This congress is acting in less than two months to approve the nations pipe loin. The president is creating all jobs, it is called studying pipelines. This pipeline will be safe and environmentally sound. That was the First Amendment i got passed. The pipeline strengthens our relationship with an important ally and creates thousands of jobs for the American People. You know, they say the other side is saying some funny things. They say drilling and Oil Production is at a 29year high. Great. Lets continue this process. Lets make it better and longer. Energy independence is right around the corner. Youre on to something here. Lets continue that. The other side says theres danger from oil spills. The truth is, the pipeline industry has a 99 safety rating. You cannot say that about trucking or rail. You cannot say that about barge. They say this is the umpteenth time we passed this bill. I think they are sending a message that they want Energy Independence, they want a change. They understand that the Keystone Pipeline means Energy Independence. This house will pass this will and will send it to the president. The president said if congress wouldnt act a little over year ago, he would. Well, now congress is acting and now he is saying, i have a pen and going to veto. Which way is it, mr. President. You cant get it both ways. Maybe if the people on the other side of the aisle dont vote for it maybe the americans will vote for more republicans. It is time to get it done. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from new jersey is recognized. Mr. Pallone how much time remains . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey has four minutes remaining and the gentleman from pennsylvania has 3 1 2 remaining and mr. Up ton has 15 minutes remaining. Mr. Pallone i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. Green. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Green i thank our Ranking Member to allow me to have two minutes to talk about how i support the Keystone Pipeline. We have a little diversity on our side and i rise in support of senate bill 1. I represent refining and Chemical Plant community in east harris, county texas, and we have five refineries in my area that will use that keystone crude oil. Congressman weber has the eastern leg and i have the western leg and we have two big old huge tanks who are ready to get that oil and distribute it to our refineries. We have refineries from corpus cristy on the gulf coast who could use that crude oil. They are using heavier crude oil from other parts of the world. The development has taken six years to get this permit. This is the longest study of any crossboard pipeline i have ever sign. Because of the backlog, we have 11 other projects that have not moved through the process and some of these are just a simple name change and thats the problem. The president s permitting has broken down. Congress needs to act. State department has studied this project four different times. Each time they come back and said, the climate impacts will be negligible. The jobs issue, we will have a year of pipe fitters teamsters laborers electrical workers those are great jobs. Construction jobs are temporary and now will go on to another job. In texas, we have no shortage of need for pipelines. And the bill is not aspect as id like, but we need to send this bill to the president. Got out of the senate. And i give the president a chance to do it but we need crossborder pipelines whether canada, United States texas to mecks as and i ask unanimous consent to place my full statement in the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentleman from pennsylvania. Mr. Shuster i rise once again to ask my colleagues to support this bill this pipeline, that has been said is the most studied it will be the safest pipeline and help out one of our great allies and keep energy costs down in this country and will create over 40,000 infrastructure jobs and yes, they are temporary, but those jobs will help families of construction workers and move on to other jobs and spin off other jobs to keep this pipeline viable for years to come. Let me finish with the final quote, a well known american, an american respected by the other side of the aisle, an american respected trusted and listened to by the other side of the aisle. Let me quote that person. And he says, the pipeline increases the diversity available supplies in the United States. Worldwide crude oil sources in a time of considerable Political Tension and other Major Oil Producing Countries and regions, shortens the pathways of crude oil supplies and increases supplies for a major nonorganization Petroleum Exporting producer. Canada is a stable ally with the United States which augment the security of this energy supply. Approval of the permits sends a positive economic signal in a difficult economic period and about the future reliability and vaket of the portion of the United States imports. This shovelready project will provide construction jobs for workers in the United States. That was president obama and he said that in 2009 when he was talking about the alberta clipper. I dont know what has changed but this quote can go to this pipeline. Has all the positive impacts that that pipeline does. So i urge my colleagues to support this bill and send it to the president and ask the president to reconsider his veto threat. I ask how much time do i have remaining . The speaker pro tempore 1 1 2 minutes remaining. Mr. Shuster i ask unanimous consent to yield time to the gentleman from michigan to control the remainder of my tim time. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Up up mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore mr. Upton mr. Speaker, i yield myself three minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Upton here we are once again to debate legislation on the keystone x. L. Pipeline. For the past six years, this project has been thoroughly vetted by the congress and the administration. And there is no question in my mind that the keystone x. L. Is in the National Interests. So lets look again at the facts. Its a jobs project. President s own state department has con filmed that keystone is going to support 42,000 jobs across the country. Keystone is going to be safe. Yes, it is. It remains one of the most efficient ways to transport energy. And keystone is going to rank at the top of the class when it comes to safety. The pipeline is going to incorporate 59 additional Safety Standards proposed by fimsa and adhere to the Pipeline Safety standards that i worked with john dingell to get signed into law. Keystone is better for the environment. Yes, it is. We know that canada is going to develop to develop its rich oil sands regardless of whether we build the pipeline. We dont build it, that oil is going to continue to get to the marketplace through other more carbonmoreintensive means. It will enrich our Energy Prices and stay stable and affordable. We know this despite high gas prices. We know that high gas prices arent going to last forever and prices have begun to tick back up. By bringing more energy to the market, it can help us protect us against price spikes and overseas disruption. We want certainty. The president said last week that he was again another reason that he is against this is because gas prices are low. Yesterdays wall street journal, headline above the fold, Oil Price Rebound predicted. Thats right. They are going to go up. Americans understand supply and demand. This is a positive, the Keystone Pipeline is very positive for us and the United States. I would like to ask unanimous consent to put in a letter we received just an hour or so ago from the canadian embassy. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Upton in that letter from the ambassador from canada, he makes a number of good points but concludes by saying this, there is no significant difference between the g. H. G. Emissions from oil sand, crude oil and heavy crude oils that would be displaced at the u. S. Gulf coast. As compared to rail k. X. L. Represents lower emissions and lower environmental and Public Safety risks. The evidence is in. The case ought to be closed. There is no good reason for president obama not to join with republicans and democrats to say yes, its time to build. Reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from new jersey has two minutes remaining. Mr. Pallone mr. Speaker how much time is now on the republican side . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan has 13 1 2 minutes. Mr. Pallone and i reserve. Mr. Upton i yield two minutes to the gentleman from north dakota, mr. Kramer. Mr. Cramer i spent several minutes articulating the benefits of this bill. And i thank you for introducing it in the senate. There are legitimate concerns being raised by my friends on the other side. With regard to the price of oil being about 50 and being low and therefore somehow that negates the need for the pipeline. 2,336 days ago, the price of oil was approaching 50. Transcanada still applied for the pipeline. In fact, at low prices the cost of transportation is a more important consideration and oil transported by rail costs about 10 a barrel more than it does by pipeline. The pipeline is even more important. With regard to the pump station spill in north dakota on the original Keystone Pipeline. I cited that line. The good news was everything worninged. The alarms went off. The farmer called the company. There was a spill and it was corrected and no environmental impact. With regard to the types of jobs, i saw them firsthand. These are permanent jobs. They are temporary on that particular job, but 88 of the steel used in the keystone x. L. Pipeline has been sourced from north america. I want to read this quote from danny henddricks. Danny says this with regard to the kind of jobs that will be created. Quote they have health care for another year. They have a pension credit for when they retire. It means that those families have got health care, dental care, so it means a lot. It means they can make a house payment. It means they can send their kids to college. Danny henddricks is a Business Manager for pipefitters in oklahoma. These are real jobs and to degrade them in any way is dishonest and disrespectful and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from new jersey reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Upton i yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania mr. Kelly. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Kelly those jobs that youre talking about that will be part time, i know the department of lake will count those numbers. This is the most federally reviewed pipeline in history. Six years. The thing about this thats most impressive, it doesnt cost the american taxpayer one single penny. Its privately funded. I would guarantee you, along that pipeline is thats constructed, all those communities are going to benefit. How many more times do we have to talk about this . This is not a republican issue, by the way. This is an american issue. The majority of the American People support this. Democrats and republicans of both the house and the senate. It is bipartisan and bicameral. My goodness, how rare is that . Business groups and labor unions. Even president bill clinton and president bush agree, this is something that needs to be done. News outlets from bloomberg to the the Washington Post to u. S. A. Today. They all say build it. U. S. A. Today gets it right. They say, on the merits, the Obama Administration should long ago have said yes. But the white house seems to have been paralyzed by its fear of angering our ally, canada, or infuriating the democratic environmentalists if it says yes. Its way past time to say yes. President obama must say yes to new jobs, he must say yes to bipartisanship. He must say yes to good government. He must say yes to america. And he must say yes to the keystone x. L. Pipeline. Its long past due, my friends. Lets move america forward. Lets become energy selfsustaining and lets be the leader in the world when it comes to energy. This debate is way past time and the thought that we shouldnt do it now because the oil market is down, my goodness. Nothing could be further from the truth. I thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from new jersey reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Upton mr. Speaker, i would yield two minutes to the gentlelady from wyoming mrs. Lummis. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from wyoming is recognized for two minutes. Mrs. Lummis thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, im having kind of a deja vu moment and a holy cow moment both at the same time. Deja vu because we already passed a Homeland Security funding bill. So that debate has shifted to the senate. Somebody apparently didnt get that memo. Im having this holey cow moment because i cant believe im standing up here in support had, holy cow moment because i cant believe im standing up here in support of a senaten senatepassed keystone x. L. Pipeline approval act. The broad bipartisan support for this is remarkable. This bill is bipartisan, its bicameral. In fact, it commanded a super majority in the senate. A majority of the American People want to see the pipeline constructed. The pipeline has been studied and studied and studied again. In fact, way up to the state department, which approved the pipeline more than a year ago. This kind of support for a piece of legislation is a rarity in washington. It doesnt get any better than this. Thats because the pipeline has unquestionable merit. It directly creates jobs. Its a shot in the arm for our energy economy. It will make america more energy secure, ans a separation of president s and congresses for an aspiration of president s and congresses for decades. And its now in our grass fp we choose to cease it. Why the president would threaten to veto this bill is beyond rational explanation. Its economic benefits could not be more evident. Mr. Chairman, i sincerely hope the president reconsiders his threat to veto this so American Workers can finally start to construct and reap the benefits for the American People. Thank you, mr. Speaker i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The gentleman from new jersey reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Upton mr. Speaker i would yield two minutes to the gentleman from arkansas mr. Hill. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Hill thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker i rise today in support of approving the keystone x. L. Pipeline. The pipeline is widely supported by americans. By a bipartisan majority in this house and in the senate. In the more than six years since the application to build the pipeline, the president has refused to authorize it citing two reasons. Number one, environmental challenges. But, mr. Speaker the pipeline has undergone numerous environmental assessments. And the u. S. State departments final Supplemental Environmental Impact statement confirms the minimal impact of the pipeline on the environment. Number two, legal challenges. But, mr. Speaker, on january 9, 2015 the nebraska Supreme Court approved the pathway to the pipeline. The president has no more excuses to deny the completion of the keystone x. L. And i urge him to rescind his veto threat of this Critical Energy and infrastructure bill. Americans want a true alloftheabove Energy Policy that boosts our goal of north american Energy Independence. Benefits consumers creates jobs protects our environment and preserves our natural resources. This bill accomplishes all of those goals. However mr. Speaker, the president continues to block this essential energy and Infrastructure Project and the jobs it would provide to our hardworking american families. Further, due to the bureaucratic delays of the past six years, this project is now costing 50 more 50 more than its original announcement. In my district alone, the pipeline has supported over 600 jobs atwells fund tubular where at wellsfunds tubular where pipe is ready to put into the ground. Mr. Speaker, if approved, this project will provide thousands of more jobs and over 3 3. 4 billion for our nations economy. The president is out of excuses. Its time to approve this project. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from arkansas yields back. The gentleman from new jersey is recognized. Mr. Pallone i would yield one minute, mr. Speaker, to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Cohen. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. Mr. Cohen thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you for the time. The gentleman said this is the time to pass it. Its not the time to pass it. The time to pass it is after all the reports and studies are in. And the state department hasnt completed its study. Its kind of like what were doing in this congress. Were not going by our regular procedures. And not having bills in committee and not having opportunities for amendments on the floor. Because we bring things up here to make it the political issue du jour. This is not the time for the bill. Just like its not the time for the Prime Minister to come and speak from that well. It should be after his election and after the negotiations with iran are over. And this should be after the state department has told us what their opinion is and then let the president make his decision. We should go back to regular order. I yield back the balance of my time. And hope the house will return to regular order. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Upton mr. Speaker, i would yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. Allen. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. Mr. Allen i thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker i rise today in strong support of this keystone x. L. Pipeline approval act. You know i think on both sides, all we talk about is creating jobs. For six years this project has been studied, we hear that over and over again. You know, every environmental report has been favorable and in fact the president s own state Department Says that the construction of this pipeline will create tens of thousands of jobs. At a time when millions of americans are struggling, this is a project thats ready to go. As we said, we have pipelines stacked up ready to put in the ground. This Keystone Pipeline is not just an important is not just important to growing our economy, this project is critical to securing north american Energy Independence and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Congress has taken action with bipartisan so support and finally we will put this priority on the president s desk. I urge the president to listen to the American People who support this project and reconsider his threat to veto this critical legislation. With that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from new jersey reserves. The gentleman from michigans recognized. Mr. Upton mr. Speaker, i yield at this point one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. Carter. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. Mr. Carter thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you, mr. Chairman. For yielding to me and for the work that youve done on this bill. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of senate bill s. 1, to approve the keystone x. L. Pipeline. After what has turned out to be an unacceptable sixyear delay by the Obama Administration. Many have stated that this bill is about creating jobs and guess what . They are right. The pipeline would create over 40,000 jobs without a dime of taxpayer funding. Helping to put eager American Workers out of the unemployment line. Approval of the pipeline would also bring down energy costs here at home. Lifting a huge burden on hardworking families, Small Businesses and farmers. Moreover clearing the construction of the Keystone Pipeline puts us closer to north american Energy Independence to reduce our dependence on oil from foreign sources that are all too often at odds with americas interests and our national security. So the bill we debate today is about jobs. Its about making energy more affordable. But its also about making our country safer. This bill will help us stop funding both sides of the war on terror. Mr. Chairman, thank you, mr. Speaker, i support this bill and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Mr. Upton mr. Speaker, may i ask how much time is remaining. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan has four minutes remaining. The gentleman from new jersey has one minute. Mr. Upton im not aware that we have any further speakers. So willing to close if the gentleman goes first. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. Mr. Pallone mr. Speaker if this bill grants a regulatory earmark to Transcanada Corporation, effectively exempting transcanadas keystone tar sands pipeline from all federal permitting requirements, including requirements that apply to every other construction project in the country. Keystone will increase Carbon Pollution and threaten critical water resources. Tar sands are a dirty, highpolluting fuel. It produces up to 40 more Carbon Pollution than conventional oil. Even with the current proposed route, leaks from the highly corrosive pipeline will threaten the aquifer, a critical resource for Drinking Water and irrigation. Mr. Speaker, we dont need this dirty oil. Since keystone was proposed to cut u. S. Oil demand week of dramatically boosted less polluting u. S. Oil production. In fact, much of the Tar Sands Oil will not got america but will go through america and be exported oversales. This leaves the United States with all the overseas. This leaves the United States with all the risk and no reward. I urge my colleagues once again to vote no on this legislation. It is not good for this country. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey yields back his time. The gentleman from michigan is recognized for four minutes. Mr. Upton mr. Speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker this is not new science. Weve got existing oil and Gas Pipelines across the border, we have a million miles of pipeline ourselves within the United States. Safety standards rightly are are so are a lot higher than they used to be and will continue to oversee this. Canadas our friend. We get oil and gas from canada today. Weve expanded many of our refineries, in the billions billions of dollars trying to get prepared for new pipeline commodities coming from the north. Its time to build this. It has been six years. I remember well secretary of state Hillary Clinton a number of years ago saying that they would be ready before the end of that year to complete their studies to get this thing done. Six years is now has now come. And its time for us to act. The courts have ruled, the nebraska Supreme Court has ruled the way that they did in support of this. We know that the Carbon Footprint is less by putting it in the pipeline and we know that its safer than others of transportation and again we know that other means of transportation and again we know that canada is going to sell this oil somewhere. If they dont connect it in a pipeline here to the u. S. , that pipeline is going to go 2000 miles to the east and get on a boat or a barge, higher Carbon Footprint. Isnt it better to do it here . To build it, put it in a pipeline here in the u. S. . This bill, we were accepting the senate bill, yes, they finally passed this bill. Lets pass this bill this afternoon. Lets send it to the president. Lets hope that he might reconsider a proposed veto on this bill and lets deal with shoot and lets get it done. Theres a reason why better than 65 of americans support this. They understand it. They understand supply and demand. We want gas prices to stay stable, we know that this oil that we get from canada will displace oil coming either from the middle east or from venezuela. Why is that not a good thing . Where House Speaker john boehner slide john boehner signed a legislation. The bill is not expected to be sent to the white house for another week. That is according to a Top Republican aide. The reported reason is so president obama can not to veto the bill while congress is in resort in recess. He will have 10 days to sign it or issue a veto. We will show you the signing ceremony on capitol hill with Speaker Boehner and other lawmakers. In a few minutes i will sign Senate Bill One partisan legislation for the keystone xl pipeline. I want to thank my colleagues who are here today. This really is pretty simple. The keystone xl pipeline is a good idea for our economy, and a good idea for our country. Members of both parties know it. They put politics aside and passed it is very important bill. The president s own state permits as this will create jobs. Many labor unions know it. They say it is a lifeline for americas workers. Of the overwhelming majority of the American People know it as well. Do the right thing. Sign this bill and help us create more jobs in america and create a healthier economy
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