[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7480-7481]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NORTHERN ROUTE APPROVAL ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Dakota (Mr. Cramer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, this week, the House of Representatives is 
going to vote on a very important piece of legislation that should be 
unnecessary.
  Due to the President's objection--at the insistence of Hollywood and 
the EPA--a critical piece of North America's energy security puzzle 
languishes on a desk in the Oval Office while thousands of unemployed 
workers collect government benefits instead of a paycheck. That is why 
I cosponsored and am doing all I can to pass H.R. 3, the Keystone 
pipeline Northern Route Approval Act, a bill that renders the northern 
route of the pipeline approved for construction, eliminating the need 
for a Presidential permit.
  As vast reserves of oil are discovered and new technologies unlocked, 
energy security in this decade is well within our reach. The amount of 
oil that could be flowing to U.S. refineries in the Keystone XL 
represents nearly 50 percent of the oil that we currently import from 
the Middle East.
  Mr. Speaker, in addition to sitting on two of the subcommittees that 
held hearings on this legislation, I have a long history of involvement 
with TransCanada and the Keystone pipeline as a former environmental 
regulator in North Dakota. From 2003 until my election to Congress last 
year, I carried the pipeline portfolio as one of three members of the 
North Dakota Public Service Commission.
  As you might imagine, the oil and gas pipeline construction business 
is robust in my State, as the Bakken shale development has elevated 
North Dakota to the position of the number two producing State in the 
country.
  One of the pipelines we sited while I was on the PSC was the original 
TransCanada Keystone pipeline. It carries over 500,000 barrels of crude 
from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

[[Page 7481]]

in Alberta to U.S. refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma.
  The first 217 miles of this pipeline actually run through our State. 
It crosses the border in Cavalier County, North Dakota, and runs 
through seven more counties, crossing 600 landowners' land, two scenic 
rivers, and includes five pumping stations.
  While not universally loved, I can tell you that not a single inch of 
this line in North Dakota required condemnation proceedings--not 
because I was such a great regulator, but because I represent such 
great citizens. Our citizens understand the value of energy security 
and the jobs that energy development creates, and that same sentiment 
exists in our Nation today.
  The environmental safeguards we demanded on the Keystone are rigorous 
and appropriate. They've been tested and they work.
  I toured the Keystone during construction and met many of the men and 
women, who were grateful for the good-paying jobs that built the line, 
and many other local restaurant and hotel proprietors, retailers, 
subcontractors who were happy to have the work and the business. The 
local officials and school administrators are grateful for the tax 
revenue that would not be there but for the Keystone pipeline, and, of 
course, the tax relief it provides local farmers, in addition to the 
easement payments, are a blessing.
  Mr. Speaker, I've sited hundreds, maybe thousands of miles of oil 
pipelines that operate safely and efficiently throughout North Dakota, 
but none as thoroughly vetted and safe as the Keystone XL.
  I've heard the arguments from my friends across the aisle who claim 
the Keystone only helps Canada and does nothing to the benefit of the 
United States. They also claim that the carbon footprint is too great. 
The fact of the matter is the Keystone has already signed up over 
60,000 barrels of North Dakota crude and has the capacity for at least 
100,000 barrels.
  Today, 71 percent of North Dakota crude is shipped by rail. Now, I 
have nothing against trains, but railing oil costs more and is not as 
safe as pipelines. It also requires trucks to get the oil to the train.
  According to the director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral 
Resources, Lynn Helms, approval of the Keystone XL will cause two 
things to happen: 300 to 500 truckloads per day will be taken off North 
Dakota highways, and there will be one to two fewer trains leaving the 
State. He calculates that greenhouse gas emissions from rail are 1.8 
times and trucks 2.9 times greater than the emissions from pipeline 
transportation, and spills from truck transportation occur at three to 
four times the rate of spills from pipelines.
  Approval of the Keystone will result in 450,000 to 950,000 kilograms 
per day less in greenhouse gas emissions in North Dakota alone, as well 
as significant decreases in dust, and 60 to 80 fewer spills per year.
  North Dakota officials also expect highway fatalities will be reduced 
by three to six per year, and injury crashes by 85 to 150 annually if 
the Keystone XL is built.
  Mr. Speaker, America's national security and America's economic 
security are tied directly to America's energy security, and the 
Keystone XL pipeline is a critical weapon in that security.

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