[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 26 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PROTECTING INVESTMENT IN OIL SHALE THE NEXT GENERATION OF 
            ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, AND RESOURCE SECURITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 15, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3408) to set 
     clear rules for the development of United States oil shale 
     resources, to promote shale technology research and 
     development, and for other purposes:

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this bill.
  I do not even know where to start: Keystone XL; Drilling in the 
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Drilling of the coast of California; 
Throwing money at oil shale, an unproven technology with a horrible 
track record and no clear path to responsible development that will not 
create jobs or revenue for the Treasury. All of that is in this bill.
  Reauthorization of the Surface Transportation bill should be a 
noncontroversial exercise that invests in roads, highways, bridges, 
tunnels, and waterways throughout the country. Bipartisan efforts in 
the past saw this reauthorization as a key jobs creator and 
reinvestment tool for America to reinvest in its physical 
infrastructure and regain its competitive advantage. For the first time 
since the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, this 
Transportation bill does not contain a single high priority 
infrastructure project.
  Instead, this bill intends to pay for reauthorization of the 
transportation bill with some of the most controversial, partisan, and 
special interest-driven pieces of legislation considered by this 
Republican-controlled House.
  This bill would open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to onshore 
oil extraction. Home to elk, caribou, gray wolves and polar bears, the 
refuge is one of the most pristine pieces of wilderness anywhere on 
Earth. It was set aside as a refuge on a bipartisan basis. Now, the 
majority wants to throw that away and allow large oil companies to suck 
massive profits out of our Nation's public resources.
  Even with expanded drilling in some of the most sensitive ecosystems 
in North America, this proposal would only generate less than 2 percent 
of the revenue needed to support the transportation projects the bill 
authorizes over the next 5 years.
  With the President's wise decision to wait on the controversial 
Keystone XL pipeline, Republicans are now trying anything they can move 
it through without review or public support. This bill would shift 
authority for approval from the State Department to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC), even though FERC is not responsible for 
overseeing or regulating oil pipeline siting or safety.
  This bill would not ask FERC to review the pipeline; it would mandate 
that FERC authorize the construction of Keystone XL. If they refuse to 
approve it, the project would move ahead, ignoring important 
environmental protocol.
  Despite our Nation's recent investments in clean, homegrown, energy 
choices for Americans, we are rushing through a pipeline that will 
import dirty oil from Canada to a port in Texas so it can be exported 
to other countries. This is not the way to make this sort of decision.
  At the beginning of last year, the Republican majority promised an 
open and transparent Congress that would include single item bills, 
sufficient time for review, and bills under an open rule. Today, we are 
on the House floor debating a 200-page section of a 900-page 
transportation bill.
  We were promised a Congress focused on jobs and continued efforts to 
bolster our Nation's economic recovery. Instead, we have been given a 
year of political games and a paralyzed legislative branch.
  Let's start over and work on a bill that will make our roads safer, 
modernize our highways and create real, long lasting jobs.
  I urge my colleagues to vote NO.

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