Keystone XL Pipeline Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. TILLIS. Madam President, long before I was actually sworn into
the Senate, I traveled across the State of North Carolina. I promised
the citizens of North Carolina that I would work toward commonsense
solutions to provide opportunities for economic growth and opportunity.

Today I hope to send forth amendment No. 102 with the support of my
good friend Senator Burr from North Carolina on the approval of the
Keystone Pipeline, to take a look at things that we can do to do our
part in North Carolina to contribute to the ultimate goal of energy
independence in this Nation.

The amendment, the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Access and
Revenue Share Act of 2015, will expand domestic offshore production,
natural gas exploration and production, which, in turn, will create
jobs and set our Nation on that track to energy independence.

Families across the country are too familiar with the impact energy
prices play in our day-to-day lives, making decisions that are very
difficult for them in these difficult economic situations.

When utility bills and gas prices increase, hard-working Americans
face hardship and struggle to make ends meet. We need to make that
easier and lift the burden on those hard-working taxpayers.

We also cannot underestimate the great impact energy plays in
America's foreign policy decisions. We are in many ways dependent on
oil from the Middle Eastern States that do not share our democratic
values.

The predicament does not certainly place America in a position of
strength. America has more energy potential than any other nation. It
is time that we start realizing its full potential.

What the amendment does is fairly straightforward. It instructs the
Secretary of the Interior to finalize the 5-year program for 2017 to
2022. That includes annual lease sales in both the Mid-Atlantic Outer
Continental Shelf and the South Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf
region. It grants to States in both of these regions a 37.5-percent
share of all revenues collected from the Outer Continental Shelf
leasing activities.

Each State in the region gets a minimum of a 10-percent share of that
allocation. It directs 12.5 percent of the revenues collected for the
Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf activities to the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. The 37.5 percent for the States and the 12.5 percent
for other regions mirrors the revenue split given to the Gulf Coast States--Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama--under current law.

North Carolina has received approximately $209 million in funding
over the past 5 decades, protecting places such as the Cape Lookout
National Seashore, the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge,
Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests. The Department of Interior is
currently developing a 5-year leasing program for 2017 to 2022. The
language of the amendment merely instructs the Department to include
the Mid-Atlantic and the South Atlantic regions as part of that plan.

Current law requires that the Department of Interior give deference
to the preferences of States when developing a leasing plan for areas
within 50 miles of the shore. Keep in mind, the drilling that we are
talking about in North Carolina, off our coast, is greater than 30
miles off the coast, far beyond the site horizon of our beautiful
beaches in North Carolina.

I want to close by saying why we are moving this amendment now.
First, it is the fulfillment of a promise I made to the citizens of
North Carolina. It also does enormous progress for creating jobs and
helping our economy get back on track in the State and the region.

It is estimated that more than 55,000 jobs can be created by 2035;
more than $4 billion annually in economic contributions to the State of
North Carolina. Almost $4 billion in government revenue for the State
of North Carolina--$4 billion. As someone who served as Speaker of the
House of North Carolina, I cannot tell you what an enormous impact that
will have in terms of reducing the burden on taxpayers and businesses
in North Carolina, creating more opportunities for economic expansion
and job growth. There will be up to $577 million annually in revenue
share payments according to a report published by the Southeast Energy
Alliance in 2009.

These numbers increase opportunities in North Carolina unlike
anything I saw in my 8 years in the State legislature. It is an
opportunity for North Carolina to do its part to make the Nation energy
independent and to help me fulfill my promises to the citizens of North
Carolina, which is to create jobs and provide great opportunities for
this generation and future generations.

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