The presiding officer the senate will come to order. Mr. Menendez [inaudible] and after having had the benefit of having a hearing on the pipeline ive decided to oppose this bill for four basic reasons. First, on the bill i am deeply concerned that if approved, this pipe lynn will be the first of many pipelines opening one of the largest sources of carbon on earth to exploitation. Second contrary to what many believe, im convinced this pipeline will simply not enhance, help, or in any positive way improve our energy profile. Third, in my view, it is completely absurd for congress to take the role of permitting pipelines. It is a role we have never assumed and should not assume now. And, fourth, i believe its ridiculous that our republican colleagues insist on language banning Eminent Domain for National Parks legislation but oppose it when it comes to foreign or private projects like keystone. Furthermore, mr. President we cannot underestimate the Environmental Impacts of this pipeline. The facts are clear. The resource in alberta is enormous. Tar sands formations the size of iowa. The tar sands is 17 more Greenhouse Gas intensive than other forms of oil because it takes an enormous industrial process to extract it. Its been estimated that if this resource were fully exploited it would release more Carbon Dioxide in the air than the United States has emitted in its entire history. As james hansen, one of the foremost climate scientists in the world has said, building the Keystone Pipeline would be quote game over for the planet. There are also more local risks. Over the weekend landowners are seeing the pipeline spill in the yellowyellowstone river in montana. It is happening right now and landowners are wondering if their family farm will be the victim of a similar spill wondering if property that has been in their family for generations can still be farmed and passed on to the next generation. And while some jobs will be created by the pipeline, the fact is, after two years of construction, it will create only 35 permanent jobs 35. Thats not a lot of jobs. If we want to create millions of permanent infrastructure jobs, i urge the supporters of the pipeline to support our efforts to increase transportation funding. I urge them to continue incentives for clean energy. I ask them to do all they can to help local governments rebuild Water Infrastructure systems. Thats how we create permanent jobs that build our economy and help us keep our competitive advantage. By comparison, the number of jobs created by keystone is hardly an argument for passage of this legislation p. As you all know, we also have the issue of Eminent Domain, the power of any governmental entity to take private property and convert it to public use subject to reasonable compensation. Now, many, including some of my most conservative friends on the other side, were outraged by the idea that Eminent Domain proceedings could be used to seize private property for private gain. Now, ive been working very closely with senator cantwell on an amendment and we agree with our conservative colleagues that using Eminent Domain proceedings for private gain is priet is pretty outrageous. Here on the issue of keystone, a foreignowned company is using Eminent Domain to seize private property so it can better export canadian oil a foreignowned Company UsingEminent Domain to seize private property so it can better export canadian oil. The project is not in the Public Interest but clearly in the private interest. Senator cantwell and i feel this amendment should be a nobrainer an easy amendment that every senator can support. Now, in recent years republicans have insisted on similar language prohibiting the use of Eminent Domain when we establish National Parks. Well if Eminent Domain cannot be used to establish a National Park in the Public Interest to conserve our National Treasures and preserve americas beauty for future generations then surely surely it should not be used to benefit private interests in in this case in the interests of a foreignowned oil Company Seeking to ship its product around the world. Which brings me to the amendment of the senator from massachusetts. We know that oil that will flow through this pipeline will flow threl todirectly to foreign markets. Thats why i support the amendment from the senator of massachusetts. Foreign oil is not subject to Americas Crude Oil export ban you but whether it is shipped as crude or refined here and then exported we all know that this oil is not going to help the american consumer. The intent of the markey amendment can be summed up very simple clie, using an old adage that president reagan was very fond of trust by verify. For months now supporters of the keystone x. L. Pipeline have been telling us that the tar sands that will travel through the United States will help enhance our energy security. They have been telling us that the pipeline will bring a reliable source of fuel from a close ally understand that it will reduce prices at the pump helping u. S. Consumers and businesses. The markey amendment does nothing more than confirm the promises made time and time again by supporters of the pipeline. It would require the tar sand that travel through the United States stay in the United States. It says that if americans are to accept all the down sides of the pipeline if you as Property Owners are to have their lands takenway for transcanadas benefit, if americans are forced to live with the risk of an oil spill of dirty tar sands that we dont even know how to clean up properly then the very least we can do is get a guarantee in law, that the United States will reap the benefits that come with all of these risks. So all this amendment did is put into writing promises weve heard over and over again from supporters of the pipeline. It codifies in law what we previously had to take in faith. I thank my colleague from massachusetts for offering the amendment, and i would note that he has a long history of working to improve Americas Energy security. He and i have worked closely since he came to the senate to protect the longstanding requirement that u. S. Produced crude oil stay here at home to benefit the u. S. Consumer rather than being shipped across the globe. This amendment is another commonsense protection to make sure that our Nations Energy policy is aimed at helping consumers rather than helping Oil Companies bottom line, and i encourage my colleagues to support it. Ive introduced the american oil for American Families act a bill to ensure that oil or Petroleum Products that originating within americas public land or waters are not exported as crude oil. That bill will increase our Energy Supply at home, lowering prices for consumers and businesses and i intend to reintroduce that legislation in this congress. Mr. President , for these reasons, i urge my colleagues to support the markey amendment. I intend to vote against the bill which in in my view is nothing but an earmark for big oil. It will not significantly help the american economy. It will not benefit American Consumers, and it will needlessly harm landowners for generations. With that, mr. President i yield the floor. Mr. Cornyn mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn mr. President tonight the president of the United States will address the nation on the state of our union and talk a little bit about his priorities for the coming year. Im not sure how much more there is for the president to say than has already been leaked in the press in the drip, drip, drip of social media and other stories but im concerned that he simply did not get the message that was delivered loud and clear on november the 4th by the american voters. Just a couple of months ago they sent a message that was loud and it was clear. Theyre fed up with the way things operate here in washington d. C. Theyre fed up with the dysfunction, and theyre fed up with the lack of real leadership that focuses on their concerns, not washingtons concerns. Concerns like more money in their pocket. I was amused to listen to our good friend, our colleague from new jersey, complaining about additional exports of oil or, actually gasoline and other fuel. Its actually the supply, the glut of gasoline onto the Global Markets thats cause add pay raise for most hardworking middleclass families because the price of gasoline has plummeted because of the glut of supply. But we ought to be focused like a laser on how do we put more money into the pocketbook of hardworking american taxpayers after years of stagnant jobs and stagnant wages. Stagnant number of jobs for the Record Number of americans whove been looking for them. After sending a message loud and clear on november the 4th what is the president s Response Response . Well he says, more of more of the same. Hes set to announce a 320 billion tax hike and hundreds of billions of dollars in more spending. Yes, hundreds of billions of dollars more in taxes and hundreds of billions of dollars in more federal spending. Sadly, the president has doubled down on the same agenda which in his own words was on the ballot this last fall and was soundly rejected. But this agenda and these policies are not only wrong for America Today theyre certainly wrong for the america of our future. Future generations deserve a country that provides them more opportunity than our parents had or than we had. Thats called the american dream. But hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending and new taxes when we already face an 18 trillion debt, well, that makes the american promise one unlikely to be fulfilled. The cause of this problem is pretty clear. The president remains focused on the priorities here in washington d. C. , and not on the priorities of hardworking american taxpayers working from paycheck to paycheck, dealing with rising costs of living when it comes to food and other commodities and who are sorely in need of additional money in their pocket. Things clearly need to change and that to me is what the voters said on november the 4th. I think i speak for Many Americans and many texans when i say, mr. President enough is enough. The American People expect better and more importantly they deserve better. Sure we know there are always going to be big challenges, and theyre not easy to deal with by any stretch of the imagination. But, surely surely we can come up with Better Solutions than more taxes and more spending. I mean, this is really doubling down over the last six years. You would think that the president , giving the state of the union now in his seventh year in office, could come up with Something Different particularly after his own party lost nine senate seats on november the 4th. The great news and there are good news is we really dont have to start from scratch. We need to look no further than some of the laboratories of democracy thats what Louis Brandeis called the state the lab darieslaboratories of democracy to see what actually works. We can learn a lot from states like arizona where the presiding officer is from, and my home state of texas. Were not perfect but i think weve learn add few important lessons we could teach to the policymakers here in the white house. Many policymakers in washington seem to have forgotten the secret sauce the formula the recipe by which strong, sustainable Economic Growth that lifts up the middle class in texas and in so many other states across the country why thats alive and well and why those policies actually work. This last friday, i had the opportunity to visit southeast texas. I was in beaumont, texas actually where the existing gulf coast leg of the Keystone Pipeline is already operating. I think many of my colleagues would be amazed to know we are already transporting canadian crude from canada across the country by and large on rail cars to refineries on the gulf coast. And all this keystone x. L. Pipeline that well be voting on will do is increase the supply, increase the supply, which means more product which means hopefully downward pressure on prices for hardworking american taxpayers. While the president stood in the way of the building of this completed pipelines and the tens of thousands of jobs it would support, down in texas the gulf coast leg of the keystone is already booming but theyre hungry for more crude feed stock so they can produce even more, and more jobs can be created. Its been good for local communities. I talked to the mayor of beaumont and other local communities. I talked to the county judge. This is taxes that are provided by investment like the keystone x. L. Pipeline. Those not only create good jobs but the tax base necessary to educate our kids in k12 education. They provide the products and services from local businesses who sell those. In other words its really a force multiplier, projects like the keystone x. L. Pipeline when it comes to our economy and Economic Growth and opportunity and of course its been good for thousands of construction workers that built the pipeline. Now, i have heard our colleagues on the other side of the aisle try to denigrate these construction jobs. They say oh, they are just temporary jobs. Well mr. President you and i have a temporary job. We are elected to a term of office and if were not reelected, that was a temporary job, and every job is in effect a temporary job but to denigrate these good highpaying construction jobs, including those performed by welders who in texas properly train and can make in the order of 140,000, 150,000 a year, those are good, wellpaying jobs that we ought to respect and we ought to encourage more of. So thats just one example of things that some of the folks at the white house who looked down their nose at these construction jobs and try to denigrate the Economic Contribution of things like the keystone x. L. Pipeline, what they could learn from it. In my state, we have reduced taxes, we have cut red tape in favor of sensible regulations and we have encouraged businesses to come to texas to grow and create jobs. If ive heard the story one time ive heard it a hundred where governor perry has contacted people in california, said come on down, come to texas where youre welcome where the cost of doing business is lower where your cost of living is cheaper, where you can actually buy a home for your family thats affordable and people have voted with their feet and they have come where the opportunity is. Add it all up and over the last six years twothirds of all new net jobs created in the United States of america came from just one state and thats my home. And another thing washington could learn from texas we actually balance our budget every year. I mentioned earlier that the president seems to be proud of the fact that the deficit has actually gone down. The presiding officer knows thats the annual difference between what we take in and what we spend. Well what he doesnt tell you is that we are actually adding to the debt every year because were still spending more money than what were bringing in, and its now gone up about 8 trillion during his administration now to an unprecedented 18 trillion national debt. So we need to roll up our sleeves, and we invite the president to join us and to take on the priorities of hardworking american taxpayers in every state across the country. We know this isnt going to be easy but thats what we volunteered for and i know that there are colleagues here in the United States senate, republicans and democrats alike who are eager to increase the challenges that confront our country, whether they are Economic National Security or you name it. These are things that need to get done. So at the end of the day it doesnt really matter what i think the state of our union is or even for that matter what the president thinks the state of our union is. What matters is whether the teacher in cady, texas believes his students will have the opportunities he did growing up or whether the single mom waiting tables in fort worth can find enough work to feed her family. Our nation is truly strong when its people believe it to be, and i hope the president understands that and tries something new rather than the same old failed policies of the past. Mr. President , i yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from minnesota. Mr. Franken i thank the president. I rise to urge my colleagues to oppose any motion to table my amendment. My amendment is about making sure that if we do build the ceent Keystone Pipeline, that its built with American Steel that its built with american iron and steel. Those are jobs. I i believe that we should not short circuit the approval process here, but i dont im sorry. I dont need anything. I dont want to short circuit the process here, but if the pipeline is buil