North American-Made Energy Security Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Chair, I appreciate the leadership of Congressman LEE TERRY of Nebraska to develop H.R. 1938, the North American-Made Energy Security Act.

H.R. 1938 would expedite the Presidential Permit approval process for the Keystone XL pipeline extension. This pipeline extension would allow the delivery of more oil to come into this country from Canada's oil sands in the province of Alberta. I appreciate Canada as America's largest trading partner.

There are strategic and economic impacts of the development and delivery of oil and natural gas between the U.S. and Canada, and I am well aware of the economic impacts in South Carolina, creating thousands of jobs in the District I represent in Aiken and Lexington Counties.

Currently, there are over 100 of the large mine haul trucks operating in the Oil Sands powered by MTU engines. The engines produced by MTU in Aiken, South Carolina, support not only the North American manufacturers of these large mining trucks, but the international market as well. Interestingly, by next year, Aiken will be producing MTU's largest engine for the haul-truck market, the 20V 4000. The marine variant of this engine powers the U.S. Coast Guard's Fast Response Cutter, and this will also be produced in Aiken. Hundreds of jobs are created in Aiken County and neighboring Georgia due to the oil sands development in Alberta.

Furthermore, the Michelin tire manufacturing facility in Lexington, South Carolina, produces earthmover tires and is one of the mining industry's largest suppliers. Overall, 7,930 people are employed by Michelin in South Carolina with locations in Anderson, Greenville, and Lexington.

Passage of this legislation is critical to our economy. The nearly three-year delay of the Keystone XL pipeline expansion project is blocking significant economic growth and preventing Americans from fully accessing a safe and dependable source of oil held by Canada, a longtime ally and the largest trade partner of the United States. This expansion would enable expanded importation of 830,000 barrels of oil daily from Canada, instead of importing it from other unfriendly sources.

A Canadian Energy Research Institute study found that investing in Canadian oil sands will produce 340,000 U.S. jobs and create $34 billion in revenues for the U.S. government. Construction of the pipeline itself would also support more than 10,000 jobs, and the addition of the pipeline to the Bakken formation would enable additional, more cost-effective development of that domestic energy source.

For these reasons, I support this legislation and am hopeful of ultimate support from the President.

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