On the recordDecember 13, 2011
I thank the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee for the time. We've all heard about the need to address jobs, to act on jobs, so here we are today to address the issue of job creation for so many in this country who are currently unemployed. Perhaps to some, the creation of jobs is just a pipe dream; but to many Republicans and Democrats, job creation is a Keystone pipeline. It's not a pipe dream. In Colorado alone, the Alberta oil sands could create as many as 6,000 jobs in the next 4 years, and the Keystone pipeline is an important part of that. We hear over and over again of the need to create jobs, of the need to address the issue of job creation. Yet here we are, hearing opposition to job creation. For every dollar we spend on oil from Saudi Arabia, 50 cents is returned to the U.S. economy. For every dollar spent on Canadian oil, 90 cents is returned to the domestic economy. It's because, in Canada's oil fields, American products are used en masse--Case loaders, Michelin tires, Wolverine boots, Ford trucks. The list goes on. This is not the way it is in countries thousands of miles away. I urge this Congress not to put politics before paychecks. Pass this bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from California has expired. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) has 5\3/4\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) has 1\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) has 4\1/2\ minutes remaining.
