Keystone XL Pipeline Act -- Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise to again talk about the Keystone XL
Pipeline approval bill. We will be voting on cloture on the motion to
proceed in about 15 minutes or so.

I believe we have a bipartisan majority. We have 60 sponsors of the
legislation, and we will have some others join us in voting to proceed
on the bill.

That is important, not just because this is bipartisan legislation,
important energy legislation for our country but, as I have said
before, this is an opportunity for all the Members of this body--
Republican and Democrat--to come forward with their amendments in an
open amendment process and really have an energy debate.

Let's talk about the energy future of this country and let's bring
forward amendments to this legislation that can be good amendments and
help us build the right kind of energy plan for our country.

What I would point out about this Keystone Pipeline approval bill is
that as we work to build an energy plan for this country, as we work to
produce more energy so we are truly energy secure--a lot of people call
it energy independence--but the way I define it is energy security for
our country where we produce more energy than we consume, so we control our destiny. If we produce more energy than we consume, then we control our destiny when it comes to energy. But to do that, we would not only have to produce that energy, we have to have the infrastructure to move it safely, cost effectively, and efficiently from where it is produced
to where it is consumed.

We have this incredible opportunity with Canada to have North
American energy security. We are working with our closest friend and
ally in the world. We together produce more energy than we consume, and
we have the infrastructure in place to move it from where it is
produced to where it is consumed in our country. Now we control our own
destiny.

When it comes to OPEC or when it comes to Russia or when it comes to
China, when it comes to geopolitical events that affect the price of
energy, we are in a strong situation. Look at what is going on in
Western Europe right now. Look at what is going on in Ukraine. They are
in a tremendously difficult situation because they are dependent on
Russia for their energy, for their natural gas, at a time when Vladimir
Putin is undertaking very aggressive action in Europe. He is invading
Ukraine. He has taken Crimea. He continues his aggressive efforts. And
at the same time the European Union is trying to support Ukraine,
Ukraine is fighting with Russia. This is a situation where Ukraine is
depending upon Russia for its energy.

Does America really want to be in that kind of a situation in the
future when we have real problems in the Middle East, when we have real
problems with fundamentalists, Islamic jihadists conducting terror on
our people and other freedom-loving people around the world? Do we want
to be in a situation where we continue to depend upon the Middle East
for our oil?

Well, the answer to that is no. The American people resoundingly
answer that question--no.

Also, the American people well know that the reason gas prices at the
pump today are lower is not because OPEC just decided to give us a
Christmas present. They know the reason energy prices are low in this
country, that when they pull up to the pump they are saving money, is
because we are producing so much more energy in this country and we are
getting more energy from Canada.

Unless OPEC cuts back their production, more supply drives prices
down. So it is not only about low prices now, it is about making sure
we are able to control our energy destiny in the future. We have to
take a long-term view. It is working.

Of the 18 million barrels of oil a day this country consumes, we now
produce 11 million barrels in this country. We are up to 11 million
barrels that we produce in this country of the total we consume, so we
are still importing about 7 million barrels a day.

Canada is now up to 3 million of those 7 million barrels, so we are
down to only importing about 4 million barrels a day, but if we keep
working at this, we can continue to produce more in this country.
Canada's production is continuing to grow. And if we build the
infrastructure, we can make sure that we control that energy--North
American energy security.

That means not only now do our consumers and small businesses and our
whole Nation benefit from lower energy prices, lower gas prices at the
pump, but we have that ability to make sure we control our destiny and
that we benefit in the future.

Let's not repeat the mistakes of the past where we return to this
dependency on OPEC down the road because we haven't built the
infrastructure, we haven't worked with Canada, and we haven't brought
our domestic industry to North America so that we truly are energy
secure. If we don't build the necessary infrastructure, if we block the
necessary infrastructure, we can't build that energy plan for the
future.

I have heard my counterparts, some of the critics, say: Well, it is
not up to us to issue a building permit for infrastructure.

Really? So you mean it is the President's job and it is Congress's
job to block critical energy that will get us to energy security? Our
job is to block it? Our job is to prevent the very infrastructure we
need to build energy security for this country, to block the private
investment, the $8 billion that private companies want to spend to
build this infrastructure, to create jobs, to produce more energy in
North America, and to help make this country's energy security? The
President's job and this body's job is to block the ability of our
country and Canada to build this necessary infrastructure? Well, I
don't think so.

If you want to put it in terms of: Oh, well, we are not supposed to
issue a building permit--really? So our job is to prevent the building
of critical infrastructure even when it does not cost one single
penny--not one penny--of government money?

This is almost $8 billion of private investment that will generate
hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue--State, local, and Federal.
Every State on the route has approved it.

There is an idea somehow we are jumping the gun after 6 years? Let's
see, it has been in process for 6 years. Every State on the route has
approved it. We are not spending any Federal money. We are saying our
job as a Congress and the President is to block that kind of
investment, block that kind of job creation, block that kind of energy
development, and block our ability to get to energy security for this
country.

Then there is this argument: Oh, well, it is TransCanada. It is one
company. It is only one company, so it really doesn't matter.

Really? Well, if you were a company--a Canadian company or a U.S.
company--and you were about to build infrastructure so that we could
continue to produce more energy in this country, would you do it? If,
in spite of the process that the Federal Government has to approve this
project, where all of the requirements have been met--not once, but
over and over again--and Congress and the President continue to block
your ability to build that infrastructure, are you going to jump up and
spend billions of dollars and do it? I doubt it.

And isn't that really what this is all about? That is what it is
about, isn't it? It is for the folks, for the extreme environmental
groups that don't want the development of fossil fuels--they are going
to block it. This is sending the message and making sure they shut her
down here. That has to be music to OPEC's ears. I have to believe that
OPEC is going: Boy, that is great; they are not going to build the
infrastructure in their country to produce the energy.

That is going to keep OPEC in business.

There is another country that I think will be very pleased, really
excited, if this project gets blocked, and that is China. China is so
anxious to get this oil, they are trying to buy that production in
Canada. Because, make no mistake, if the energy doesn't come to the
United States, it is going somewhere else, and it is most likely going
to China.

So when we get back in that situation down the road when oil prices
move back up, energy demand goes back up, and we have prevented our
industry from growing--and Canada is sending all the oil to China, and
we have to go back hat in hand to OPEC, Venezuela, and all of these
countries, remember----

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HOEVEN. I will wrap up on this note.

Let's not get back into the same predicament we have gotten ourselves
into before. Let's build this vital energy infrastructure so we can
develop energy security for our country, together with Canada.

The other point I want to make is on the environmental point: No
significant environmental impact. That is the finding of the Obama
administration's environmental impact statement done by the State
Department. That is their own report: No significant environmental
impact.

I look forward to having more discussion on the environmental aspects
as well.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source