[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H2864-H2865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2100
                CONSTRUCTION OF THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to 
talk for a little while tonight about some challenges that we are 
facing as a nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have never run for office before, and I will tell you 
I never had intentions of running for office. After sitting home 
watching from my home State of Louisiana, watching what is happening in 
Washington, and watching the dysfunction in this Nation, I think that 
the major motivation for running for office was more out of frustration 
than anything else--the disparity, the inconsistency in policies, 
decisions being made that lack, I think, the public interest and are 
being made more so as a result of political decisions.
  Unfortunately, what I am going to talk about tonight I don't think 
will be the only subject that I end up coming back and talking about 
over the next several months.
  It seems that, oftentimes, the Federal Government's decisions, their 
policies, their regulations seem to lack any type of connectivity to 
what is actually happening on the ground--decisions being made in a 
vacuum, decisions lacking, I think, the true expertise. What I am going 
to talk about tonight is an example of that.
  This picture right here is a picture or the result of bad Federal 
policy. Now, the administration would lead you to believe that this 
picture is what is going to happen by building the Keystone pipeline.
  This is oil, Mr. Speaker. This is oil in all of these bags that was 
recently picked up, but the administration would make you think that 
this is what is going to result from constructing, from building the 
Keystone pipeline.
  The irony is that these bags don't have anything to do with the 
Keystone pipeline. This was actually oil that was picked up just in the 
last few months from an oil spill that happened in the Gulf of Mexico, 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 5 years ago--5 years ago, Mr. Speaker.
  This administration has been asked over and over and over again by 
the State of Louisiana and by the coastal parishes in our State to 
force the responsible parties to go clean up the oil, and it is not 
happening. It hasn't happened. They haven't been held accountable.
  It is unbelievable to me that we have an administration out there 
talking about their opposition to the Keystone pipeline because they 
are concerned about the environmental consequences at the exact same 
time--and over the last 5 years--allowing this to continue. It is 
hypocrisy. It is absurd, and it is obviously not in the public 
interest, Mr. Speaker.
  The only reason that the White House, the only reason that the State 
Department is involved in any decisionmaking whatsoever in the Keystone 
pipeline is a result of the fact that the pipeline actually crosses the 
border between Canada and the United

[[Page H2865]]

States. That is the one thing that actually introduces the Federal 
Government into this decision.
  For the most part, pipelines can be permitted and built by States, 
with State approval. They don't need interaction or approval from the 
Federal Government.
  Now, by not building the Keystone pipeline or not approving it, many 
folks in the administration would lead you to believe that that is 
actually going to benefit the environment, that it will result in less 
oil consumption, that it will result in less greenhouse gases being 
released into the environment, into the atmosphere. The reality is that 
that is not accurate at all.
  The reality is that, first of all, if you don't build the Keystone 
pipeline, you are still going to transport that oil. The Canadians will 
still be producing that oil, but what is going to happen is they will 
use other modes of transportation. They will use things like barges. 
They will use things like rail.
  I think it is noteworthy to look at the statistics, to look at the 
historic performance of these other modes of transportation, which 
clearly indicate that transporting by pipeline is actually the safest 
means, the safest mode of transportation to get this product into the 
United States.
  It is safest in regard to different incidents. It is safest in regard 
to spills, impacts on individuals, on communities, on the economy, on 
the environment. The safest way to transport is doing it by pipeline.
  I mentioned that the oil will still be transported. Here is an 
example of what happens when you transport through other modes, when 
you don't transport by pipeline. This is an example of what happens.
  As a result, you have had additional oil being transported by rail 
lines. Look at the extraordinary spike. Look at the extraordinary spike 
in the spills and the impacts to the environment as a result of 
transitioning to that mode of transportation.
  Mr. Speaker, we have all seen in the news the various accidents that 
have happened all over the Nation as a result of this flawed policy of 
refusing to allow for this pipeline to proceed.
  The State of Louisiana is a logistics--it is an intermodal hub. We 
have five of the top 15 ports in the United States. We have enough 
pipelines in our offshore region that they would go around the Equator 
if you put them end on end.
  We have an extraordinary network of pipelines, demonstrated right 
here. You can see this high concentration of pipelines that are all 
over our State and in the adjacent State of Texas and in all 48 States 
in this graphic here very, very clearly.
  I will say it again. The only reason the administration is involved 
in the Keystone pipeline decision is because that pipeline crosses the 
U.S. Canadian border. It is the sole reason.
  All of these pipeline networks in here probably did not include 
Federal approval in regard to crossing over international borders. Take 
a look at this, Mr. Speaker. Take a look at, as I recall, 1.5 million 
miles of pipelines across the country.

  The reality is that major components of the Keystone pipeline are 
actually already built or can be built without the approval of the 
Federal Government. That 1-foot section crossing over our Canadian 
border on the north is the only reason, again, that the administration 
is involved in this.
  The fact remains, number one, by building the Keystone pipeline, it 
will not result in additional greenhouse gases being released. The 
Canadians are going to continue to produce the oil. The oil will be 
sent either through other modes of transportation in the United States, 
or it will be sent to other countries.
  I remind you, Mr. Speaker, the Clean Air Act regimes of these other 
nations, in most cases, is not as stringent or as strict as it is in 
the United States, so resulting in a net increase in the greenhouse 
gases that this administration is so concerned about.
  I will say it again. By not approving this pipeline, you are going to 
force the oil onto barges, onto trucks, onto rail, or other less safe 
means of transportation.
  I certainly have nothing against those other modes of transportation. 
They are all critically important, but to see this administration hide 
behind the oil spill or the suggested oil spill impacts of the pipeline 
is simply absurd. Facts prove otherwise.
  As you see here, the majority of this pipeline, by far, can be built 
without the Federal Government's approval. It is simply nonsensical. It 
is nonsensical to watch this administration hide behind false excuses 
to drag this decision out for years, whenever it is contrary to our 
economy.
  What is going to happen if we don't build this pipeline? In addition 
to using other means of transportation, we will be importing oil, not 
from the North American continent, but from other countries like 
Venezuela, like Nigeria and Middle Eastern nations that make up the top 
10 nations that export oil to the United States.
  In many cases, Mr. Speaker, I will say again, Venezuela, countries 
that don't share American values; yet we are exporting hundreds of 
billions of dollars and thousands and thousands of jobs to other 
countries.
  Who is running this place?
  Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed 
a bipartisan bill that was going to allow for the pipeline to be 
approved, for us to put this behind us and move towards other things, 
towards higher priority things that actually should have the attention 
of the United States Congress and the White House, as opposed to these 
things, decisions that should have been made years ago, and we should 
have passed on from there.
  As a result of these ridiculous decisions, all these tortured 
reports, all the involvement of various agencies--including the EPA, 
the State Department, and other agencies--we are continuing to go 
through this long process, dragging this out, resulting again in less 
safe means of transportation.
  Whether it is coming in through ships from other countries, across 
the Atlantic Ocean, or it is coming in on rail lines, it is coming in 
tugs and barges on our waterways, it is being transported to the United 
States, through less safe means of transportation.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to say, in closing, that this is what 
happens when you have bad Federal policy, when you are making bad 
Federal decisions. This is what happens.
  You result in thousands of pounds of oil, in miles and miles of 
shoreline, tens of miles of shoreline, still oil in our home State of 
Louisiana, as a result of bad Federal policy.
  We are watching a similar bad Federal policy unroll right now as the 
administration continues to invent impediments to what makes sense, to 
what statistically makes the most sense--by approving a pipeline and 
getting out of the way--and obstructing our economy development, jobs 
for Americans, and North American energy independence.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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