Chris Coons: “I come to the floor this evening to speak about our ongoing debate about the Keystone XL Pipeline and the need for this…”

“I come to the floor this evening to speak about our ongoing debate about the Keystone XL Pipeline and the need for this debate to shift to a much larger conversation. Tonight, as we are continuing in what has been 1\1/2\ weeks of debate in our Senate about this single, foreign-owned pipeline, it is my hope that we will begin a larger, broader conversation about America's energy and climate needs. We have so far voted on amendments confirming that climate change is real, on the future of natural gas and oil exports, on energy efficiency provisions, on rules to ensure that we buy American, and on funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the oilspill fund. I, myself, have an amendment, No. 115, that I am hoping we will have a chance to take up, debate, vote on, and pass--one that recognizes that given that the Senate has acknowledged the reality of climate change, we must now move forward to take action to prepare to adapt to those changes--changes that have already begun. I come from the State of Delaware, the lowest mean-elevation State in America, where our Governor, Jack Markell, has led a community-driven process of preparing for adapting to the coming impact on our infrastructure--our public, private, State, local, and Federal infrastructure in Delaware.…”