Keystone XL Pipeline Act
Floor Speech
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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I rise today to propose three
important amendments to S. 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act.
First of all, I want to make it very clear that I strongly oppose the
Keystone XL Pipeline plan. I have serious concern about the effects
this project would have on our health and safety; I have serious
concerns about the environmental impact; and I am skeptical of the
real, permanent jobs it could create.
This project has many risks and very few advantages, and I will be
voting against it. But if this legislation does pass the Senate, we
should at least try to make it a better bill. There is no excuse why we
cannot turn the Keystone XL Pipeline Act into an opportunity to protect
our clean drinking water and ensure that polluters have to pay to clean
up their own messes.
First, I have offered amendment No. 48, which would remove the
Halliburton loophole from the Safe Drinking Water Act and finally
require gas storage and gas drilling companies to comply with our clean
water laws. Every other industry has to do it. Our farmers have to do
it. Construction companies have to do it. Yet our gas companies have
been exempt for years.
It should give my colleagues pause that fracking companies are
allowed to ignore our clean water laws when they pump chemicals deep
into the ground. In this country, when we turn on the tap for a glass
of water, we need to know that our drinking water is safe. So let's be
fair and hold the gas industry to the same environmental and public
health standards as everyone else.
Second, I worked with Senator Menendez on amendment No. 65, which
would make oil companies financially responsible for the damages they
cause when they spill on our land and leak into our waterways. Under
current law, when an onshore oilspill occurs, the company that causes
the spill is only liable for $350 million in damages, including cleanup
and compensation. Yet a major oilspill into a river or lake, such as
the one this week in Montana, could easily result in damage well above
that arbitrary limit.
Hard-working taxpayers should never be stuck paying for an oil
company's mess, and local property and businesses should not have to
slog through endless litigation just to get the compensation they
deserve from a negligent oil company. This amendment would finally
place the burden on companies to clean up after themselves.
Third, I have proposed amendment No. 76, which would allow our
homeowners and business owners whose property has been damaged by
natural disaster to use Federal disaster assistance funds to upgrade
their property's energy efficiency. Under current law, the disaster
assistance can only be used to replace what was lost even if that
property was antiquated and not up to current standards. We need to
have much more forward-looking policies that actually make sense.
Due to the effects of climate change, we have seen a growing number
of natural disasters in recent years, from blizzards, to hurricanes, to
raging fires, to endless droughts. When we pick up the pieces after a
major storm, we want to make sure that when we rebuild, we rebuild in
the smartest way possible, and that includes not only protections
against the next disaster but also proactive measures to save energy,
reduce emissions, and lower costs.
As I said, I don't support the construction of the Keystone XL
Pipeline, but if this new Congress is intent on sending this bill to
the President, then we need to make sure the bill keeps our drinking
water safe, holds companies accountable for their own messes, and
encourages efficiency in our economy.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
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