Steven Holt: “Let me begin where the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) completed his remarks. We are experiencing climate change.…”

“Let me begin where the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) completed his remarks. We are experiencing climate change. It is very expensive in lives and dollars. It is the result of the way we produce and use energy. We must make these points clear. What we are talking about with this legislation is going further down this dangerous, deadly road. Now, beyond that, this legislation we are considering today represents a complete disregard of the effect of tar sands oil on our environment and our economy. This bill would ask the United States to bear all of the environmental risk without any appreciable rewards. Less than 2 months ago, in Mayflower, Arkansas--a typical American small town--the 2,234 residents of that Arkansas River town learned what we mean by ``risk'' from an oil pipeline. As much as 7,000 barrels of oil spilled into neighboring communities and the environment. This oil was tar sands oil. This pipeline was part of this Canadian pipeline system that we are talking about today. But rather than ensuring that, if we're going to build the Keystone pipeline to transport this dirty, particularly dirty, oil across the United States, that we first ensure that we have proper protections for our environment, this bill would take us in completely the opposite direction, while doing nothing to ensure that Keystone oil would enhance our energy security.…”