Press Releases
Jobs and energy independence, it can’t get much better than that
Washington, DC,
May 16, 2013
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act, a bill that approves the Keystone XL pipeline project. H.R. 3 eliminates the need for a Presidential Permit to approve the Keystone XL pipeline and finds that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011 satisfies all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. Today marks 1,700 days since the initial permits were filed for the project. This legislation will end years of delay and the drawn out process of review by approving construction of the Keystone XL project, creating thousands of American jobs and providing greater U.S. energy security. Representative Bucshon (IN-08) released the following statement: “It took America’s greatest generation a little more than 1,300 days to win World War II. After 1,700 days and 15,000 pages of State Department review, the Keystone XL project remains in limbo. This project will undoubtedly create thousands of American jobs, ease energy prices, and help secure our nation’s energy portfolio. Instead of moving forward, this administration continues to delay construction for purely partisan political reasons, putting radical environmentalists before hard working middle class Americans. This project simply makes sense and we should not wait another day to get started.” Rep. Bucshon’s opening statement at the hearing can be found here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ihj7LHD9pQ&list=PL4CE9BC61F1ADA6A6. The Facts on Keystone XL: According to a newly-released Pew Research Center survey, “two-thirds of Americans (66%) favor building the pipeline.” During the 112th Congress, the House voted six separate times to allow for construction of the pipeline. It has been more than 1,600 days since the initial permits were filed for the Keystone XL project. According to the U.S. State Department, construction of the pipeline would create 42,100 jobs and that it would transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day (nearly half of U.S. imports from the Middle East). An estimated $585 million in state and local taxes along the pipeline route will be paid during construction. An estimated $5.2 billion in property taxes will be generated during the operating life of the pipeline. The State Department and the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) determined that the Keystone XL pipeline “would have a degree of safety greater than any typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system under current regulations and a degree of safety along the entire length of the pipeline that would be similar to that required in high consequence areas.”
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