House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) released the following statement in support of H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act:

“If Washington intends to be focused on jobs, then the Keystone XL Pipeline is a no-brainer,” said Chairman Graves. “Last week, our Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade heard from a labor official and small business owners, including one that President Obama visited on Friday, that they want the Keystone XL Pipeline project to move forward. The project would boost the demand for various skilled labor occupations, and create an estimated 42,100 jobs, many of them with small businesses. For something like this to be delayed more than 1700 days is unacceptable. Small businesses across the nation want to grow and hire, as Americans are demanding work. This Keystone Pipeline project is what we should give them.”

Notable Quotes From Last Week’s Hearing:

Brent Booker, Secretary Treasurer, Building and Construction Trades Department, Department, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC, said, “America's Building Trades Unions emphatically support the construction of the Keystone pipeline which will move oil from deposits in Canada to existing refineries in Texas, Oklahoma and the Midwest. Our unions have been actively involved with this project for almost 5 years now, and we are adamant in our belief that the economic, energy security, and national security benefits associated with the construction of this pipeline are too many and too significant to allow it to be derailed by a narrow and misguided political agenda being advanced by a small minority of ill-advised environmental groups.”

Peter Bowe, President and CEO, Ellicott Dredges, Baltimore, MD, testifying on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers, said, “One way or the other, Canadians will eventually solve their distribution problems, with or without US governmental collaboration. To the extent this process is delayed, the producers will suffer economic loss, and their US suppliers, like Ellicott Dredges will suffer as well, including diminished employment.”

Mat Brainerd, President, Brainerd Chemical Company, Tulsa, OK, testifying on behalf of the National Association of Chemical Distributors, said, “My industry would benefit from building the pipeline in three distinct ways. First, like many industries, chemical distribution benefits from economic growth generally. Second, building the pipeline would reduce our costs for aromatic and aliphatic chemicals, diesel and rail tank cars. Third, it would benefit the economics of hydraulic fracturing, which is an important market that many in our industry serve.”

Dr. Christopher R. Knittel, William Barton Rogers Professor of Energy Economics, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, said, “A recent Cambridge Energy Research Associates analysis finds that the average Canadian tar sands oil is cleaner than heavy Californian and heavy Venezuelan oil. These two sources are the likely oil sources that Canadian tar sands would replace. Given this, it is possible that the Keystone XL pipeline might actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

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