WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement after voting against legislation to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline by the Canadian company TransCanada. The project proposes to move tar sands oil, one of the dirtiest fuels on Earth, from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of Texas for export. The bill, which passed the House by a vote of 252 – 161, allows for construction of the pipeline to proceed by exempting the project from all federal permitting requirements, including environmental laws and requirements that apply to every other construction project in the country.

“The economic benefits of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline are minimal and the risks are high,” Eshoo said. “For the ninth time, House Republicans have force fed Congress the idea that the Keystone XL pipeline will yield tens of thousands of jobs, secure a stable oil supply from a friendly neighbor, and prove to be an economic boon. For the ninth time, I voted against it because we know that the alarming details in the fine print of this proposal say otherwise.”

Eshoo continued, “Keystone XL will create very few long-term jobs, will do nothing to lower gas prices at the pump or improve our energy independence, and it poses serious risks to our environment. Furthermore, this bill creates a special exemption for the Keystone XL pipeline, essentially trampling on our system of environmental laws, while shipping refined tar sands oil to the more lucrative international market.

“Where is the net gain for the American people in construction of the Keystone XL pipeline? America needs reliable energy resources and job growth, but a proposal like this hardly scratches the surface while putting our environment and health at serious risk.”

Background

Congresswoman Eshoo has been an ardent and outspoken opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, she has heard testimony from TransCanada and high-ranking Administration officials on the merits of the project.

Keystone XL backers have widely touted a TransCanada report that projects the pipeline will create 20,000 U.S. jobs, including 13,000 in construction and 7,000 in manufacturing. The State Department's projections, made in consultation with TransCanada, reveal that up to 42,100 direct and indirect temporary jobs will be supported during construction of the pipeline. However, in less than two years when construction is completed, Keystone XL is expected to support only 35 permanent jobs.

Supporters of Keystone XL argue that the project guarantees the U.S. will be an end consumer of the Canadian tar sands oil. In fact, there’s no guarantee consumers will see one drop in the U.S. market. TransCanada's president of energy and oil pipelines, Alex Pourbaix, admitted this under questioning at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in 2011 when he said the company was not willing to put into law or shipping contracts language that guarantees the oil remains in the U.S. Because tar sands oil is expensive to produce, oil companies want an export route to the more lucrative international market.

The U.S. will bear 100 percent of the risk of a catastrophic spill in return for serving as a conduit for Canadian oil to reach the international market. This is not a theoretical risk. In 2013, an Exxon Mobil pipeline spilled approximately 5,000 barrels of oil in Mayflower, Arkansas, forcing residents to evacuate their homes. In Marshall, Michigan, cleanup is still ongoing after a spill of 800,000 gallons in 2010, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

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