[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 193 (Thursday, December 15, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H8978-H8979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ENERGY SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, what does the Iranian nuclear threat to 
Keystone XL pipeline and the payroll unemployment insurance, doc fix, 
and jobs bill all have in common? Well, I'm going to use this 5 minutes 
to tie them together.
  Yesterday on the floor, we addressed a concern of the Iranian nuclear 
threat. We did so with two pieces of legislation: H.R. 1905, the 
Iranian Threat Reduction Act; and H.R. 2105, the Iran, North Korea, and 
Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act.
  Why did we bring these bills to the floor? We brought these bills to 
the floor because of our concern of a nuclear Iran that has threatened 
its neighbors and one of our closest allies, Israel.
  So what's the Iranian response? Well, I would turn your attention, 
Madam Speaker, to an article published yesterday, December 13, from 
FOXNews.com, with the title, ``Iranian Official Threatens Military 
Drill Sealing Off the Strait of Hormuz.''
  I will read the first two paragraphs:
  ``A high-ranking Iranian official has said Iran's military will 
practice sealing off the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important 
oil transport channel, in a provocative move that illustrates Iran's 
capability of disrupting the world's oil supply.
  ``The announcement Monday by Parviz Sarvari sent oil prices up about 
$3 to $100 a barrel based on the speculation of a disruption during the 
military drills.''
  Sarvari, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security 
Committee, is quoted as saying, ``Soon we will hold a military maneuver 
on how to close the Strait of Hormuz,'' in a statement reported by 
Reuters. ``If the

[[Page H8979]]

world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world 
insecure.''
  So the Keystone XL pipeline--which is the second part of this 
discussion--we heard on the floor yesterday, and it was acknowledged by 
both sides that, at a minimum, 20,000 jobs would be created, maybe up 
to 110,000 jobs. We also heard about organized labor being all in on 
the Keystone XL pipeline. I quoted a couple of members of organized 
labor. One would be Brent Bookers, director of the construction 
department at the Laborers' International Union of North America. He 
said, ``For many members of the Laborers, this project is not just a 
pipeline; it is a lifeline.''
  But what doesn't get told about Keystone XL pipeline enough is its 
importance for energy security.
  Now, look. If Iran can shut down the Strait of Hormuz, why do you 
think we're in the gulf? Why is the Middle East so important? We all 
know why it is; because that's where all of the crude oil is.
  So why would we not access the third largest oil supply to the Earth 
from our northern neighbor, Canada?
  The map is right here. Right up here you have the great Canadian oil 
sands in Alberta. The red line is already a pipeline called the 
Keystone pipeline. What is being proposed is the Keystone XL pipeline, 
which would help bring Canadian crude to the oil refineries in Texas.

                              {time}  1130

  Now, I already have Keystone crude oil coming to my refinery in Wood 
River, to the terminal in Patoka, and to the Marathon refinery in 
Robinson, Illinois, and that crude oil, once refined through pipeline, 
goes to Cleveland, goes to Detroit, goes to Chicago and goes all over 
the country. There can be no more secure route for crude oil for this 
country than the Keystone Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline. Do we 
dare as a country still have to fret over threats by a member of the 
Iranian parliament because they want to shut down the Strait of Hormuz? 
We will have to continue to worry about this unless we continue to 
build and work with our Canadian allies on the Keystone XL Pipeline.
  We know it's a jobs issue, we know it's an organized labor issue, and 
we know it's an energy security issue. And I just thought this story 
was timely with respect to our vote to hold Iran accountable. So we're 
on the record: We need energy security and we need the Keystone XL 
Pipeline.

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