Keystone XL Pipeline Act--Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. TILLIS. Madam President, earlier this week--actually, yesterday
and today--the Department of the Interior announced a plan that will
allow the permitting in 2017 for offshore oil and gas drilling off the
Outer Continental Shelf of our beautiful east coast.

The concern we have with this measure is not unlike the concern my
friends may have in Alaska, with steps taken by the administration that
actually limit the true potential of these regions. Like Alaska, we
have a number of opportunities for offshore oil and
natural gas drilling that have not been exploited in the past, and I am
afraid that under the current course and speed of the administration's
action, they will not be fully exploited to the benefit of North
Carolinians and many east coast States.

That is why Senator Burr and I have sponsored an amendment that
directs the administration to take more decisive and more comprehensive
action so we can seize the opportunity for North Carolina and many of
our neighbor States.

The main reason we are doing this is because I think North Carolina
and the east coast can do their part to make our Nation an energy super
power. We can also have enormously positive impact on our economy as we
move forward. This slide depicts some of the initial estimates for the
economic impact that we could have by simply directing the Department
of the Interior to issue leases and to allow exploration and ultimately
extraction off the coast.

This graphic gives us an idea, from Delaware down to Florida, of the
potential jobs creation. We can see that in North Carolina that is
55,000 jobs. It is 55,000 jobs in some of the hardest hit areas of
North Carolina, where people are out of work, and the unemployment rate
is well above the State average. It is a jobs creation opportunity that
we are just waiting to be able to provide to the States with the
ultimate authority to decide whether they are going to move forward.

In terms of the economic impact, it is over $190 billion in capital
investment and nearly $51 billion in revenue to the Federal Government
and to State governments between 2017 and 2035.

This opportunity is something that I hope doesn't go without the full
efforts of the State to actually determine how we can do it in an
environmentally responsible way.

I was speaker of the house before I came into this great body, and we
took the steps to put into place a regulatory framework to allow
potential natural gas drilling within the State of North Carolina. We
did it in a very responsible way, and we did it in a way that made sure
stakeholders had the opportunity--environmentalists, business people,
travel and tourism--so we make sure we get it right. I believe we have
laid the groundwork with the State. Now we want to do the same thing
for the opportunity that we have near the Outer Continental Shelf.

The process will involve the input of several stakeholders. It will
involve the input of environmentalists and key stakeholders across the
State to make sure we get this right. Ultimately, it gives the States
the right to determine whether they want to pursue this--from Florida
to Delaware.

The other thing it does is addresses a number of concerns I heard
when I was a legislator and since I was speaker. It has to do with one
of the greatest assets we have in North Carolina; that is North
Carolina's beautiful coast.

This is a picture of a North Carolina beach today. It is beautiful.
It is why we have millions of people come visit our coast every year.
Based on our amendment, this is a picture of how that same beach will
look after we authorize drilling and we are actually creating those
jobs. It is that same beautiful beach because we have taken the steps
to make sure that any drilling would be beyond the sight line of our
beautiful beaches. I believe, as a result, we will have travel and
tourism on our side because those jobs create additional opportunity to
expand opportunities for travel and tourism.

Then, finally, I want to talk about what good the revenue to the
State can do for this very same area. We desperately need increased
infrastructure in the eastern part of our State. We desperately need
funds to renourish our beaches, and we desperately need funds to clear
our inlet and outfit our ports so that North Carolina can play a part
in the new shipping patterns that will occur post-Panama Canal upgrade.

So in terms of economics, it is fairly simple. We are looking for
about 50 percent of a revenue share, with 37 percent of that going to
the States and for the effective regions for items such as inlet
clearing and beach renourishment.

We are also looking to have 12.5 percent of the revenues dedicated to
the Land and Water Conservation Fund so we can continue the good work
of setting aside irreplaceable lands and increase outdoor recreation
activities.

I believe this is an opportunity for North Carolina to do its part to
make America the energy super power that we need it to be, to improve
our economy in North Carolina, and to contribute to improving the
economy of this great Nation.

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