09.12.13

Hoeven, Landrieu, Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Resolution Supporting Keystone XL Pipeline

WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) today introduced a bipartisan concurrent resolution declaring the Keystone XL pipeline project in the national interest and calling on President Obama to approve it. The measure is offered as an amendment to the Shaheen-Portman energy conservation bill now under consideration in the Senate.

“This measure is structured as a joint resolution, putting both the House and the Senate on record that the Keystone XL pipeline project is in the national interest,” Hoeven said. “If Congress can find it in the national interest using the abundance of favorable information that has accumulated over five years on the project, then surely the president can too. Add recent events in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East to Congress’ support, and it is clear that the United States should seize the opportunity to band with its closest neighbor and ally, Canada, to ensure true North American energy independence. What could be more in the national interest?”

“As we debate this energy bill that aims to move us toward energy independence, I cannot think of a better way to achieve that goal than by building the Keystone pipeline. The time for studying is over. It’s time to start building this important pipeline. And the list of reasons to build it is now nearly as long as the pipeline itself,” Sen. Landrieu said. “I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense resolution. If we continue to delay, it will drive Canadian production to be exported to China and Korea, and we will miss out on 43,000 much-needed jobs.”

“I just returned from two trips to Canada, where I saw firsthand the energy production operations taking place. After seeing the work being done by our friendly neighbors to the north, I am just as committed as ever to seeing the Keystone XL pipeline approved,” said Senator Heitkamp. “This pipeline will allow us to more efficiently transport fuel, which will help us become North American energy independent. We have waited five years to move the Keystone XL pipeline forward. Not only is that unacceptable, but it’s embarrassing that we cannot approve a pipeline application in the time it took us to fight World War II.”

  • The Hoeven-Landrieu measure establishes a formal recognition that the Keystone XL pipeline project will:
  • Promote a sound investment in the nation’s infrastructure
  • Promote North American energy security
  • Increase private sector jobs and related benefits, helping both the region surrounding the pipeline and the United States as a whole
  • Will boost the nation’s economic growth
  • Generate revenues for local and state governments

The resolution notes that every study conducted by the State Department, most recently the project’s draft Environmental Impact Statement issued in May, has found no significant impacts to the environment and that greenhouse gas emissions would be minimal. Every state through which the pipeline passes, including Nebraska, has approved this project, and 57 project-specific features in the design, construction and operation of the Keystone XL have led the State Department to find that the pipeline will have “a degree of safety over any other typically constructed domestic oil pipeline.”

Companies supplying labor, materials or supplies for the Keystone XL pipeline are located across the United States, including Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Arkansas, Kansas, California and Pennsylvania.

Cosponsors of the measure include Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), James Risch (R-Idaho) and John Thune (R-S.D.).