[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE ACT

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                               speech of

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 9, 2015

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I oppose H.R. 3, which grants 
approval to build the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline. The public has 
been misled by the pipeline's advocates, who have played down the 
pipeline's potentially devastating effects on our nation's environment 
and on the American people.
  For starters, this bill allows a foreign company to take property 
from U.S. landowners through eminent domain. The taking of private land 
for public purposes has always been for local government or local 
interests. We cannot allow a foreign company to take our private 
property to feed its corporate profits.
  In addition, the bill exempts TransCanada Corp. and any other company 
producing, shipping, or refining tar sands oil for this project, from 
paying into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which helps to finance 
the federal government's response to spills. This exemption essentially 
reduces the companies' liability for spills from the pipeline and makes 
the U.S. taxpayers pay to clean up those spills. That's outrageous, 
especially when you consider the pipeline will go over the underground 
water supply for eight of our states.
  The legislation also gives this project special regulatory treatment 
by exempting the pipeline from all federal permitting requirements. Our 
federal permitting process exists to ensure worker safety, and to 
provide health safeguards and environmental protections for the 
American people. It is irresponsible to give this project a blanket 
exemption from these critical safety measures.
  This is particularly true given that the tar sands oil to be 
transported is more destructive than any other oil in the world. 
Converting a barrel of tar sands into synthetic crude oil emits three 
times more greenhouse gas emissions than are emitted by producing a 
barrel of conventional crude oil. If this pipeline leaks, the health of 
thousands of Americans will be at risk--and Americans, not the Canadian 
company, will be held responsible for the cost of the clean-up.
  Considering this foreign-built pipeline takes private property and 
poses serious economic and safety risks, I stand in firm opposition to 
this bill.

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