Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Madam President, I call up my amendment No. 101 and ask that it be reported by number.
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Mr. KAINE. Madam President, I rise to offer an amendment to strip a single provision out of this bill: the provision green-lighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

I offer my amendment for three reasons.

First, this provision that would put Congress's thumb on a permitting scale is completely unrelated to the debt ceiling and should not be included in this bill.

If you could build a pipeline in midair, that is one thing. But the only way to build it is to use eminent domain to take people's land. Virginians don't want to have their land taken for a pipeline unless there is a thorough process where they have all the rights accorded to them by law, administrative agency, and judicial review. Cutting off those rights is disrespectful to these landowners, who, in this part of the State, sometimes land is all they have, and it has been in their family for generations.

Finally, this bill would strip jurisdiction of a case away from the Fourth Circuit in the middle of the case. That is unprecedented and historic.

I used to try cases all the time in this circuit. I lost them, and I would appeal them. But I wouldn't try to get Congress to strip jurisdiction away from the court because I was unhappy. No everyday person gets this deal. No criminal defendant gets this deal. No small business gets this deal. Nobody gets this deal, and we shouldn't give it to some company just because they are powerful and they have influence in Congress.

For these reasons I ask for a ``yes'' vote on my amendment.
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