Hank Johnson: “Let's connect the dots here. The Koch brothers, who financed the election of 2010, won. And they won big time. They own…”

“Let's connect the dots here. The Koch brothers, who financed the election of 2010, won. And they won big time. They own a facility up in Canada that will be the place where the tar sands oil will be converted into a form that can then be shipped to the gulf coast by this pipeline. All that money that they put in, millions and millions of dollars into the last election, is coming back as a return on the investment. And it's a big return, ladies and gentlemen. This pipeline is going to cost $13 billion. Who's paying for it? The Koch brothers? No, not the Koch brothers. The American people are on the hook for the $13 billion to build this pipeline for the Koch brothers and for their cohorts ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and all of the rest of the big boys whose tax credits and tax breaks they are protecting without hesitation. So they're getting it both ways, ladies and gentlemen. They're getting it on the front end, and they're getting it on the back end in terms of not having to pay any taxes. I think we need to look at during this debt ceiling debate what our priorities are as a Nation and what our values are. Are we simply there to do the bidding of Big Business and the oil companies, or are we here to do the business for the American people?”