[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 175 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H7633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Olson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, before spending last weekend in Hawaii and 
now jetting off to Australia and Indonesia, President Obama was 
crisscrossing our country on his ``We Can't Wait'' for Congress to act 
tour. Along the way, he found the time to issue Executive orders that 
circumvent the will of Congress. His justification for this end run 
around Congress? America can't wait for Congress to act to create jobs.
  If our President was really interested in creating jobs, he would not 
have caved in to election-year politics, which was precisely what he 
did last Friday when he punted on approval of the proposed Keystone XL 
pipeline until well after next fall's election.
  When completed, the Keystone XL pipeline will bring nearly 1 million 
barrels of oil per day to the United States from Canada. Support for 
this pipeline is wide and varied, including major United States labor 
unions who understand the project will create thousands of American 
jobs and reduce our reliance on Middle Eastern oil. We will have 
greater energy security, which means greater national security. That's 
a win-win-win-win for America.
  There is no dispute that building the pipeline will create 20,000 
direct American construction jobs and spin off over 100,000 indirect 
jobs in the good `ol USA. Unfortunately, the President is putting 
personal political needs before the needs of out-of-work Americans. He 
is blowing an opportunity to ensure a stable energy supply from a 
country that likes us while creating jobs right here in America.
  The Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department have 
spent extensive time reviewing the impact of this pipeline. Early 
proposals were revised to address EPA and stakeholder concerns. After 
years of study, a decision was supposed to be made this fall by 
President Obama. Apparently, it was a tough decision for our President. 
He had to choose between two groups within his political base--labor 
unions and jobs or environmental activists and no jobs.
  There are times when the American people expect leadership, 
leadership which requires making tough decisions. Regrettably, last 
Friday, our President caved in to environmental and Hollywood activists 
as they surrounded the White House in opposition to the Keystone 
pipeline. He chose to postpone a final decision on the Keystone XL 
pipeline until January 2013. His reason? The administration needed to 
consider alternative routes for the pipeline that avoided aquifers in 
Nebraska.
  But the saga doesn't end there. Yesterday, TransCanada, the builder 
of the pipeline, directly addressed President Obama's concerns by 
announcing they would reroute the pipeline to avoid the Nebraska 
aquifers. Problem solved. American people win; right? No. It took a few 
hours for the administration to announce that the goalposts were being 
moved again. Despite proposing a solution to the President's concerns, 
the administration announced that a final decision would not come until 
after the Presidential election in 2012. The bottom line: Presidential 
politics trumped what's best for a nation struggling to recover from 
the worst recession in history.
  America needs a thoughtful leader who places the needs of country 
over politics. Canada has an abundance of energy they want to sell us, 
but they won't wait forever, and China is a ready customer. Canadian 
Prime Minister Harper recently indicated that with this unnecessary 
delay, Canada must increase its efforts to find a partner to ensure it 
can supply energy outside the United States and into Asia in 
particular.
  This pipeline will help American families today. We need these jobs 
today. We need this pipeline today.

                              {time}  1040

  The Chicago Bears need a punter. The American people need a leader. 
President Obama should be that leader and approve this pipeline today.

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