[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 62 (Friday, April 27, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 4348, SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 
                     EXTENSION ACT OF 2012, PART II

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                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2012

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 4348, 
the Surface Transportation Extension Act, Part II. With this 
legislation, House Republicans are making all the wrong choices for 
Minnesota, and for the country.
  House Republicans are choosing to bring another short-term extension 
of transportation policies to the floor instead of the two-year measure 
that passed the Senate with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 74 22. 
The Senate bill would save or create over two million jobs, including 
an estimated 28,100 jobs in Minnesota. This legislation has been 
introduced in the House, and I am an original co-sponsor.
  The Senate bill is not perfect, and I encourage my Senate colleagues 
to continue working with stakeholders--including tribal leaders, small 
businesses, and local governments--to strengthen this bipartisan 
legislation. But this compromise solution will put people to work right 
away and provide the certainty that transportation agencies and 
businesses need. For over a month, House Republican leaders have 
refused to allow a vote. It is completely unacceptable that Tea Party 
Republicans in the House continue to stand in the way of two million 
American jobs at a time when construction workers across the country 
are sitting on the bench, desperate to work.
  In this bill, my Republican colleagues also chose to include language 
that will increase gas prices for Minnesota families. H.R. 4348 grants 
approval for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would 
divert Canadian oil away from Minnesota refineries to refineries in the 
Gulf of Mexico. In a March 2011 Star Tribune op-ed, respected oil 
economist Philip Verleger explained this diversion would reduce oil 
supply in the Upper Midwest, raising costs for Minnesotans at the gas 
station and grocery store. In fact, Verleger said the country as a 
whole would end up paying nearly $5 billion more for oil than we do 
today if the pipeline is built.
  This legislation also includes language offered by Congressman Reid 
Ribble (R WI) to limit the ability of local governments and citizens to 
participate in transportation projects in their communities. These 
changes to the National Environmental Policy Act would restrict local 
influence in transportation decisions that directly affect residents' 
health, safety, and quality of life.
  I urge my colleagues to reject this broken bill, which guarantees 
more uncertainty for states, fewer jobs for workers, higher gas prices 
for drivers and less control for local governments. Instead, we should 
choose the bipartisan alternative and immediately pass the Senate 
legislation to put two million Americans back to work.

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