Mr. Speaker, for years, I, and members of this body, have come to the floor in support of the Keystone pipeline project – asking the Senate and White House to put politics aside in favor of this critical project.
With bipartisan support, the House has passed eight separate pieces of legislation to clear the way for the approval of the most studied pipeline in American history. Yet, each time, these measures were blocked in the Senate and condemned by a president crippled by indecision on a project that would put tens-of-thousands of Americans to work.
Once again, I rise in support of the Keystone XL pipeline – joining my colleagues in both parties in backing H.R. 5682 which would immediately certify the Secretary of State’s Final Environmental Impact Statement from nearly a year ago, and truly put our nation on a course toward American energy independence.
Sadly, while the House has continued to take definitive, bipartisan action to advance this critical goal, it appears the Senate has waited only until politically advantageous to do so - even as it enjoys majority support in that chamber.
While I am pleased about the Senate’s new-found interest in the wide-ranging benefits of this common sense project which will grow our economy and strengthen our national security, it is a shame that it took election-year politics – not the best interests of the American workers and families they represent – for Senate leaders to act.
This pipeline is a vital piece of a plan that creates better jobs and more opportunity and I encourage the Senate - and president - to deliver on the promise of embracing an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that works for the American people.