[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORTING KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Nunnelee) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the Keystone XL 
pipeline.
  Opponents of this pipeline claim it will damage the environment, that 
it will ship oil from Canada to China, and that increasing the supply 
of oil will somehow raise gas prices.

                              {time}  1100

  The truth is that this pipeline has been through the most thorough 
environmental review of any pipeline in history, the oil carried by it 
will go to American markets, and it will help lower energy prices by 
moving capacity from growing basins in Canada, Montana, North Dakota, 
Oklahoma, and west Texas that are comparable in volume to nearly half 
of the U.S. Persian Gulf imports.
  The Keystone XL pipeline will also benefit America by increasing the 
percentage of our energy supply provided by a stable neighbor and ally. 
More North American oil means less oil from Venezuela and Iran. This 
pipeline will create 20,000 high-wage construction jobs and 100,000 
indirect jobs. Keystone XL will also provide a new and stable supply 
access to gulf coast refiners, like the one in Pascagoula, Mississippi, 
who set the price of gasoline and are vulnerable to OPEC and supply 
disruptions. We in the House are focused on jobs and the economy, and 
this pipeline is an obvious, direct example of what real stimulus looks 
like--stimulus that comes from the private economy and produces real 
value.
  The fact of the matter is that Canada is going to develop their 
resources, and if we do not want their oil, that supply will go 
elsewhere to our competitors such as China. The Canadians have the 
supply, and we have the demand. And the Keystone XL pipeline has gone 
through a rigorous environmental review. There's no reason not to move 
forward with this vital project. The President needs to get off the 
campaign trail long enough to get his administration out of the way so 
that the Keystone XL pipeline can be developed.

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