Keystone XL Pipeline Act -- Continued
Floor Speech
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Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, this amendment would create limitations
for new Federal land designations to ensure responsible management of
our natural resources. These limitations are modeled on those in the
National Marine Sanctuaries Act, which authorizes the protection of
national marine sanctuaries. Under the act, the Commerce Secretary
cannot designate a new sanctuary unless the Secretary publishes a
finding that, No. 1, the addition of a new sanctuary will not have a
negative impact on the overall system, and No. 2, sufficient resources
were available in the fiscal year in which the finding is made to
effectively implement management plans for each sanctuary in the
system.
These are commonsense limitations that ensure the administration will
not add more land to the Federal system without considering the impacts
to the overall system and without sufficient funds to manage those
resources effectively. At a time when the national park system has a
$13 billion maintenance backlog, we need to consider the impacts to the
overall system and whether there are sufficient resources to
effectively manage additional land holdings.
In the context of energy policy, we should also consider our
stewardship choices. American energy production on private and State-
owned lands has increased significantly in recent years while
decreasing on Federal lands. Through leasing restrictions and
permitting delays, the Obama administration has tied up energy
production on Federal lands in redtape. Since 2009 oil production on
Federal lands is down by 6 percent, and natural gas production on
Federal lands is down 28 percent. Meanwhile, oil production on non-
Federal land has risen by 61 percent, and natural gas production on
non-Federal land is up by 33 percent.
By limiting Federal land designations, more land should continue to
be held privately or managed by States and local governments,
increasing the opportunity for productive and beneficial use.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I yield the floor.
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