[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 139 (Friday, November 14, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  APPROVAL OF THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. FRED UPTON

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 2014

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, in the summer of 2011, I stood on the House 
floor in support of legislation to expedite approval of the landmark 
Keystone XL pipeline. We passed that bill by a strong bipartisan vote 
of 279 to 147. But despite the overwhelming support, the White House 
issued a veto threat, declaring the bill was unnecessary given that the 
administration was committed to reaching a decision on the project by 
the end of the year.
  Fast forward to today, and it's deja vu all over again. More than 
three years after we passed that initial bill, we still don't have a 
decision from the president on this critical jobs project despite 
widespread support from Democrats and Republicans, laborers, and job 
creators.
  President Obama famously proclaimed in January 2013 that he would do 
``whatever it takes'' to create jobs and 2014 was renamed the 
president's so-called ``Year of Action.'' But when the chips are down, 
President Obama is incapable of saying ``yes'' to a project that would 
create tens of thousands of American jobs and advance our energy 
security. But despite the president's excuses, we haven't given up on 
finding a bipartisan solution.
  We have now voted a total of eight times in the House to move this 
landmark project forward. And now we are standing up for jobs and 
energy once again. We are going to keep fighting for Keystone until we 
get the job done.
  There is now no question that Keystone is in America's best interest. 
Keystone has been exhaustively studied more than any other pipeline in 
our nation's history and the facts are clear. Keystone will deliver 
nearly a million barrels of safe and secure North American oil, and 
President Obama's own State Department has confirmed that it will 
support over 42,000 jobs without significantly increasing emissions. 
It's also expected to be one of the safest pipelines ever built, 
adhering to the new pipeline standards we passed into law with 
additional safety requirements.
  Hopefully, this ninth vote is the charm, and the Senate and President 
will finally agree, that after six years, it's time to finally say yes 
to energy and yes to jobs.

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