Bill. I just wanted that to be clear. The presiding officer yes. The senator from north dakota. H. O. V. Today we vote on the bill. We have a total of 56 sponsors. It is a bipartisan bill. Thats the same bill that has been passed in the house of representatives. That was passed on friday the same version, the prime sponsor in the house was senator cassidy. As i say, the bill we vote on today is excuse me, representative cassidy. The bill we vote on today, senate bill 2280, is approval of the keystone x. L. Pipeline. Weve actually passed legislation on keystone x. L. Pipeline before. This is not the first bill. In 2012, we passed legislation that required the president to make a decision on the keystone x. L. Pipeline. We attached it to the payroll tax holiday. At that time, the president turned down the pipeline project. So here we are today and weve submitted a number of different pieces of legislation. But this legislation today actually has congress approving the keystone x. L. Pipeline. When the president turned down the project, what we did is we went back and we did the research. And under the Commerce Clause of the constitution, congress has the authority to oversee commerce with foreign powers with other countries. So in this Situation Congress has the authority to approve the keystone x. L. Pipeline crossing the border from canada into the united states. And thats what we crafted in this legislation. So rather than the president making a National Interest determination, which he seems to be unwilling to do and i say that based on his actions. Weve now been at this for about four years in this senate trying to get approval, but this project has been in the application process for six years. I was governor of north dakota back in september of 2008 when the Transcanada Company applied for a permit to get approval to build the keystone x. L. Pipeline p. Theyd already built the Keystone Pipeline, so they were applying for approval to build the sister pi sister pipeline, e x. L. Pipeline. Started in 2008. We started working on this in about 2011 in the senate, passed legislation, trying to get the president to approve it. But its now been and i can show a chart with the time line. Its now been six years in the permitting process. So the time has come to act. The time has come to act. And thats what this legislation is all about. It provides approval of the keystone x. L. Pipeline, so they can move forward and be constructed. Now, weve debated this issue, as i say, in this chamber for almost four years. And so weve gone through all of the merits. And well do that again today. Well do that again today. Weve not only come to an agreement on getting a vote, but weve also come to agreement on the parameters for the debate. Its six hours of debate, three hours for the proponents, three hours for the opponents. On the republican side of the aisle, were taking two hours, solely on the proponents side, because because al all republics are in favor of the project. On the majority side there will be three hours for opponents of the project making their case and an hour for the proponents making their case, and well alternate throughout the day. So well be here having this debate today, and well make our case, and ill continue with my colleagues to make the case for the pipeline. There will be members of the Majority Party that will make that case, and there will be some members obviously in opposition. And so ill reserve some of my time to speak later, but the point i really want to make here at the outset is that this is really about the American People making the case. I mean, when you look at this project, its about energy, its about jobs, its about economic growth, it creates tax revenue to help reduce the deficit and the debt, it doesnt cost one penny of federal money or government money, its privately funded, and its about National Security, its about National Security by helping us build Energy Security in this country with our closest friend and ally, canada. Working together, with canada, so that we dont have to get energy from venezuela or from the middle east or other parts of the world. We can produce it right here at home. And so thats not only a vitally important issue in terms of our economy and being competitive in a Global Economy because energy is truly a foundational sector for all the other industry sectors. When we have lowcost, dependable energy, we are more competitive as a country, but it really is a National Security issue. I see the good senator from vermont is on the floor. Hes got a bill that deals with how we handle surveillance, covert information, given the terrorist threat that we face. And its important that we do that well, but one of the ways to truly strengthen our country is to make sure that were energysecure, to make sure that we dont have to get oil from the middle east, to help our friend and allies in europe so theyre not dependent on russia for energy when putin engages in the kind of aggression that he has. So when we talk about this energy issue, its not just jobs, its not just the in thar its not just the energy that we get that makes us stronger in a Global Competitive economy, it really is a National Security issue. It is long past time to afnlgt it its long past time to ac. Its been six long years. I hope that well have the 60 votes that we need and well find out this evening when we vote. But again it comes back to what do the American People want . We are here representing the American People. And overwhelmingly, in poll after poll, when theyve been asked, 60 up sometimes 70 and more, they say build the keystone x. L. Pipeline. Thats who we work for. And so i hope that today at the end of the day thats the work well get done for the American People. Mr. President , i see my cosponsor on the floor, and i would turn to the good senator from louisiana. Ms. Landrieu thank you. Mr. President the presiding officer the senator from louisiana. Ms. Landrieu i thank my cosponsor and lead sponsor on the bill, the former governor and good senator from north dakota, whos been a great leader and partner with me on this. As the American People have absolutely figured out, democrats cant democrats cannot do anything alone, and neither can republicans. Its taken us a while to figure that out here in the senate and in the house of representatives, but the American People figured this out a long time ago. Just like they figure out practical things, like how to keep the roof over their head, food on the table, how to keep their kids moving forward even through difficulty. The American People are very, very, very smart. And i trust them, always have, and ive been honored to represent the people of louisiana, 4. 5 million people, and done my very best to represent them in the time that im here, and hope to continue for years to quom. One of the things that d. For years to come. One of the things that new england know thats not one of the things that they know thats not clear to people here is that it takes both parties working together compromising to get the job done for them not nor us, for them. And i think we forget that a lot. Im in a lot of meetings around here where people kind of talk about whats good for the democratic caucus, whats good for the republican caucus, whats good for leader reid, whats good for leader mcconnell, and its kind of interesting to me, because the family that i grew up in was all about public service, not for ourselves but for the people that we represent. Thats why im on the floor today. Thats why ive actually been on the floor dozens of times on this bill and bills similar to this. This is a keystone bill, which ive supported with senator hoeven literally for years, in fact i have a letter from 2011 with orrin hatch, who was the leader signer with me. Senator mcconnells signature wasnt on the letter. Maybe he was busy that day and couldnt sign it. But about 156 us sen 15 of us sr back in 2011 urging secretary of state Hillary Clinton this is how far back it goes but a long time ago saying it was really important for us to get this pipeline built for any number of reasons. The main reason the main reason is that it will signal a great sign that america understands that Energy Independence for our nation is possible for the first sim ever. And for the first time ever. And when i say Energy Independence, i mean Energy Independence for the north american continent. We might might be able to do it in just the lower 48. We might. Hawaii can contribute some. Alaska, clearly, can contribute a lot. So we might be able to do it in the 50 states. But i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that with our partners in canada and mexico, this can be done. And north america can be the superenergy powerhouse of the planet. Why is that important . There are so many reasons. I just want to name two, and then im going to sit down and reengage in this debate, because barbara boxer, who is the lead opponent, wants and has indicated her time on the floor, and i have more time later today. But one of the reasons this is so important is because what people in louisiana want, what people in texas want, what people in mississippi want, what people in new jersey want, what people in south dakota and illinois and kansas and vermont are goodpaying jobs. And when a country or a continent, as blessed as we are, uses its resources wisely to create wealth not just for those at the top, which is whats happening right now. Just at the top, the people at the top are doing great. The fancy restaurants that i walk by and see and sometimes im actually in them myself i mean, people are drinking champagne and theyre buying new cars, and i see mercedes and people see that but people in the middle class in this country are really struggling. And so our job here as leaders is to have our eyes on them, providing for them, and these energy jobs are not minimumwage jobs. Theyre not even 15anhour jobs. Theyre not even 30anhour jobs. Theyre 45anhour jobs. Our labor men and women who represent the middle class some unionized, some not, but all hardworking im going to say that again. Some unionized, some not. But all hardwork being. How would we know . Ive stood in line with them at 4 00 in the morning or 5 00 at a shift change. I do it regularly, but a lot during election tievment i felt their hand. I know how cold they are in the morning and how rough they are because they work all day. They would expect us to work longer than we do here because we have real short weeks tuesday through thursday. We take long lunch house, long weekends. Most americans think we have completely lost it. Because they work hard from morning till night. Their hands are tough. And they expect us to stand up for them. Thats why im standing here. So ive been fighting for this because of Energy Independence for america. I would know something about that because texas and louisiana, oklahoma, our area of the country, we are proud producers of energy. We produce mostly oil, mostly gas, a little bit of coal. We generate a lot. And just f. Y. I. To everybody that thinks this pipeline is the rest of the world we already have 2. 6 million miles of pipe in america. 2. 6 million miles of pipe. Were only completing basically 1,000 miles. What is everybody upset about . Weve been building pipelines in this country for a long, long time and we need to build this one. This is about Energy Independence. Its about jobs. Thats why im here. This is what the people want, and im going to close with this. For the 25th time at least, i want to say this because i want the record of the congress to reflect this because it is the truth whether people acknowledge it or not. The record of this congress will reflect this to be the truth, that some of us not just me some of us have worked to get this bill to the floor for years. And it was blocked by both majority leader harry reid and minority leader mitch mcconnell, for their own political reasons. Those reasons cleared up after the election. It just cleared up. Mitch mcconnell couldnt bring this bill to the floor without allowing a vote on the e. P. A. Coal regulation. Barbara boxer knows this. This is the truth. And she wouldnt allow the vote because she is adamantly opposed to having a vote on e. P. A. I respect that. I respect her. Everyone here knows that is the truth. Harry reid didnt want this vote to come up because there were one or two members of our caucus that they had a serious issue with this being voted on. So i knew that, and as a part of a team and i try to be part of a team but im independent i knew that the results of the election, with the senator from mcconnell winning and some of these senators, unfortunately my dearest friends losing, that we had an opportunity. And i took that opportunity. I called for this vote. Not harry reid. Not mitch mcconnell. I called for it. And i think its worth fighting for. And im telling you, the last thing i want to say, thanksgivings coming up and christmas is coming up, and its a shame that this congress has not delivered more in the last five or six years for the middle class. We say we try. Im not sure were trying hard enough. So im going to lead by example. Its the way i was raised. Were going to really try today. One of the first debates ive been in in eight years at least where the outcome is uncertain, because all of the rest of the stuff we do here is preset, preordained and its like theater for the American People. We usually know the outcome of the vote before we take it because the deals are all cut. So i brought this bill to the floor knowing in my heart that we have 60 votes. I sure hope weve got the courage that supports that. I yield the floor. Mrs. Boxer mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from california. Mrs. Boxer thank you so much. Ill be controlling the time in the opposition, very strong opposition to this. Before i yield, the first debate on our side will be senator leahy, chairman leahy. Im very honored that he will be. Let me say before senator landrieu leaves the floor, senator landrieu is is the only reason that we are debating this today. So anyone who wants to play games about this and name this bill the cassidy bill, which kind of is a joke because i believe im correct that he introduced it november 12 of this year, and the hoevenlandrieu bill was introduced in may. But set that politics aside. Let the record be clear forever, this debate would not be before this body were it not for senator landrieus insistence. I want to be clear. Secondly, youre going to hear today, i think, a terrific debate, because the people who support this think not only that this is a good thing for the country to build the keystone x. L. Pipeline, they think it is a great thing for this country. And i have Great Respect for them. On the other side, we have those of us who think it is not a good thing for this country, it is not a good thing for jobs, it is not a good thing for Energy Independence because its going to be exported, all that oil. And its actually dangerous. In my case, i was thinking what does x. L. Stand for . They named it the keystone x. L. It has no meaning. But to me its extra lethal. And my debate will show why as you analyze the Tar Sands Oil that is going to be coming into this nation, 45 more than we have now, the Risky Business that it has proven to be, and what the health costs are for our people. And thats not me. Thats nurses and doctors saying so. And i havent gotten into climate and all the other issues. So at this point i yield five minutes to my friend, senator. Mr. Leahy mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President , i know that the distinguished senator from louisiana has the majority of votes in this body for the Keystone Pipeline, and that is a compliment to her hard work in getting it, aside from a minority of votes or a majority of votes. L not be one of them, as she knows, because i represent what is the view of my fellow constituents in vermont. We feel that this pipeline is part of the unquenchable thirst for oil thats destroying our environment. We feel that conststruction is going to move forward unless and until we get a comprehensive National Energy plan, and this pipeline wont lead us toward that. It leads to us an Energy Policy of the past. The tar sands requiring energyintensive process complete with the pollution and harmful emissions to get them out of the ground, to extract them, to refine them. The sound bite, the first year of operation of the existing Keystone Pipeline and that was built, as you recall, the safest pipeline in history was built a few years in 2010, it has spilled 12 times in its first year of operation. Thats more than any other pipeline in u. S. History. And the worrisome part about that is these tar sands are harder to clean up. Ask the communities along the kalamazoo river in michigan. It has cost more than 1 billion so far, 1 billion so far to clean up a tar sands spill in 2010. And more than four years later its still a mess. And landowners continue to wait for help to restore their property. Now, i realize this will create jobs as it goes down bypassing refineries in the midwest. It will head straight for the coast, so the oil can be used in export markets pumped on ships headed for china. That may be good news for the chinese. Its not good news to the American People who are stuck with the safety risks, the health challenges, future environmental disasters and so forth. So i will not be among the majority who vote for it today. In another matter while i have the floor and id ask consent that these brief remarks be as in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy mr. President , the distinguished republican leader spoke against the u. S. A. Freedo