WASHINGTON, DC - House and Senate leaders today joined together to sign S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act. The bill will soon head to the president’s desk. Upon completion of the bill’s enrollment ceremony, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) released the following column:
On Monday we will celebrate President’s Day and honor those remarkable leaders who dreamt big, fought for our liberties and won, and accomplished tremendous feats that transformed our nation. Our current president has an opportunity to do something big for the country with the very small act of signing his name to a bipartisan bill making its way to his desk. The choice is his: can America build the Keystone XL pipeline?
The Keystone XL pipeline has been thoroughly vetted by Congress and the administration. Considering the overwhelming bipartisan support and evidence in favor of the project, his decision should be easy. Would he rather get oil from OPEC or a friendly ally like Canada?
The president’s own State Department has confirmed that Keystone will support over 42,000 jobs across the country. President Obama sold his stimulus bill on the construction jobs that it would create. Why not support these construction jobs? So many workers and labor representatives have made it clear that Keystone is a lifeline for those men and women who depend on these construction jobs, and the economic ripple effect would be welcome in any community.
Pipelines also remain one of the safest and most efficient ways to transport energy supplies, and Keystone will rank at the top of its class when it comes to safety. The pipeline will be built with state-of-the-art technologies and incorporate 59 additional safety standards proposed by the pipeline safety regulator. It will also be subject to the rigorous new pipeline safety standards that I worked with John Dingell to get signed into law.
The Keystone XL pipeline is the environmentally preferable way to deliver these energy resources to where they are refined and used. We know that Canada is going to continue to develop its rich oil sands regardless of whether we build this pipeline. The State Department agrees. But if we don’t build it, that oil is going to get to market through other more carbon-intensive means. It may even be shipped to far away countries like China who don’t share the same level of environmental and safety standards.
Energy security is yet another of Keystone’s welcome benefits. Folks in Michigan and across the country have enjoyed some needed relief at the pump this year and are celebrating the return of cheap gas. But unfortunately, we know this break from high prices won’t last forever and prices remain vulnerable to world events. Gas prices are slowly ticking up again. But Keystone XL can help keep prices stable and affordable. By bringing more North American energy to the market, the pipeline can help protect us against future price spikes and overseas disruptions. Cheap gas could be here to stay if we pursue the right policies like building the Keystone pipeline.
George Washington once wrote, “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." President Obama has used a number of poor excuses over the years to delay a decision on Keystone, but now he must face the facts. The president should listen to Congress and the American people, sign the bill, and say it’s finally time to build.
