[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 30, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S390-S391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise today to advocate for a secure 
energy future for our Nation. There is no question that we can achieve 
energy security or energy independence for our country, and I believe 
we can do it within the next 5 years.
  I define energy security or energy independence as producing more 
energy than we consume. I mean, this is an interrelated, high-tech 
global economy. Energy will move back and forth between nations, but we 
truly become energy secure when we produce more energy than we consume. 
But to do that, to achieve energy independence or energy security, we 
must take the commonsense steps necessary to achieve it. That is why 
today, once again, I call on President Obama to approve the Keystone XL 
Pipeline project now that Governor Heineman of Nebraska has approved 
the new route through his State of Nebraska.
  The Keystone XL Pipeline is not just about bringing Canadian oil to 
U.S. refineries, it is also vital to move our own U.S.-produced oil 
through our refineries. In fact, that is how I got involved with this 
project in the first place.
  Although it is hard to believe, TransCanada first applied for 
approval of this project 4\1/2\ years ago. Let me repeat that--4\1/2\ 
years ago. At that time, I was Governor of North Dakota, and I was 
working with Governor Brian Schwietzer, of Montana, to make sure that 
oil producers in the Bakken regions of our States, in North Dakota and 
Montana, could put light sweet crude oil from the Bakken into the 
Keystone XL Pipeline. We met with TransCanada, contacted our oil 
producers, met with TransCanada, and they agreed. TransCanada agreed to 
an on-ramp so that the Keystone XL Pipeline would move North Dakota and 
Montana light sweet crude from the Bakken to refineries throughout the 
United States--to refineries in Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, and 
Louisiana, hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from our oilfields 
from day one.

[[Page S391]]

  That is what this chart shows. Here you see the original Keystone 
Pipeline that was built during my tenure as Governor. Here we show the 
route of the Keystone XL Pipeline, and you can see that it comes 
through North Dakota and Montana--our Bakken region--so that we can put 
oil into the pipeline. It gives us access to all these refineries in 
Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.
  We are talking about U.S. energy, we are talking about U.S. jobs, and 
we are talking about commerce in our country, getting our economy 
growing and growing. We are talking about generating tax revenue 
without raising taxes to help with our debt and our deficit, and we are 
talking about energy security. Why wouldn't anyone want that? Why 
wouldn't everyone support this project? Why is it being held up? Why is 
the President holding up this project? Because the net effect is, with 
President Obama continuing to hold up this project, we are continuing 
to rely on oil from the Middle East when we could be relying on oil 
that we produce here at home and from our closest friend and ally, 
Canada.
  Well, some argue, it is because producing oil from the oil sands in 
Canada creates more greenhouse gas emissions. Let's look at the facts--
not rhetoric, not hype, not spin, let's look at the facts. Oil sands 
crude produces about 6 percent more carbon dioxide than the U.S. crude 
supply average--the average. Canadian oil sands crude produces less 
carbon dioxide than the heavy crude we get from California or the heavy 
crude we get from the Middle East. Think of that. By blocking the 
Keystone XL Pipeline, President Obama will continue to require that we 
rely on heavy crude from the Middle East rather than crude that is 
produced with less emissions from Canada. How can that make sense?
  Furthermore, since 1990 Canada has reduced the greenhouse gas 
emissions associated with every barrel of oil sands crude by almost 30 
percent, and the technology continues to improve. Canada is investing 
$3 billion in carbon capture and storage technology--$3 billion. Eighty 
percent of the new development in Canadian oil sands is in in situ 
production, meaning drilling--like conventional drilling--rather than 
the old method of excavation, and that means a smaller environmental 
footprint.
  Still, someone might say: Well, I don't care about that. I don't 
care. I just don't want the Canadian oil sands produced.
  The Canadian oil sands are going to be produced, just as sure as 
death and taxes. They are going to be produced. The only question is 
whether the oil comes to us or goes to China.
  I want to show my second chart. It is a simple map. The oil is going 
to be produced, but is it going to come down, pick up oil from our 
oilfields, and move that product to our refineries, state-of-the-art 
refineries with lower emissions, or is that oil, as you can see from 
these green lines, going to go to the west coast of Canada and there be 
put on ships and sent to refineries in China and be refined in their 
refineries, which have much higher emissions?
  If it goes to China, that means there will be more greenhouse gas 
emissions as the oil is transported via tankers across the ocean rather 
than a pipeline, and you also have the added risk of spills in the 
ocean, affecting the ocean ecosystem. Meanwhile, we will continue to 
get oil from the Middle East with higher greenhouse gas emissions and 
the risk of tanker spills rather than the greater safety and the lower 
cost of pipelines, not to mention the fact that we continue our 
dependence on oil from the Middle East. How can we continue to depend 
on energy from the Middle East when we see what is going on, when we 
see what is going on in Syria, when we see what is going on in Egypt 
and we see what is going on in Iran?
  Recently, I attended the movie ``Argo.'' It is a great movie. If you 
haven't seen ``Argo,'' I would recommend it. I would recommend it to 
anyone. It is about the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. Six American 
diplomats fled to the Canadian Embassy when the U.S. Embassy was 
stormed by the Iranians. Our people, as you remember, were held at the 
Embassy in Iran for 444 days. We all remember that terrible time.
  This movie is the story of how our government, working through the 
CIA, working with the Canadian Government, helped the six Americans out 
who were able to get to the Canadian Embassy. Our governments worked 
together and helped those hostages--in this case, the six who weren't 
taken hostage but the six who were at the Canadian Embassy--took them 
out of Iran. It really is a great story. It is a story of how the 
United States and Canada worked together when a Middle Eastern country 
that defines the United States as the ``Great Satan'' was holding our 
people hostage.

  Here we are today continuing to rely on oil from the Middle East. We 
cannot continue to rely on the volatile countries of the Middle East 
for our energy. The American people couldn't be more clear. We have to 
stop our addiction to Middle Eastern oil. At the same time, we can't 
continue to send them billions of our dollars as we buy the oil, 
billions of dollars that are used against us. We can and we must rely 
on ourselves. We must rely on those we can count on, such as our 
closest friend and ally, Canada.
  If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat the failures 
of the past. The time has come to act.
  President Obama, the time has come to give us a decision on the 
Keystone XL Pipeline. The time has come to approve it. On a bipartisan 
basis, we have worked to address all of the concerns you have raised 
regarding the project, including the new route through Nebraska.
  On a bipartisan basis, we have asked to meet with President Obama, 
Republicans and Democrats together. The response has been silence and 
delay. The fact is that we can build a bright energy future for this 
country, but we need the President to join with us to do that. We can 
create energy, jobs, tax revenues that will reduce our debt and deficit 
without raising tax rates, and energy independence for our Nation.
  Again, I ask President Obama to work with us, to work with us on a 
bipartisan basis, and the winners will be the American people.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). The Senator from Kansas is 
recognized.

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