Political Quotes

“I want to thank the ranking member for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I strongly disagree with the majority side's process of trying to usurp President Obama's authority by immediately approving the Keystone XL pipeline, even before the State Department of the United States of America completes its due diligence, as our laws require. Mr. Chairman, this is not an issue about jobs for Americans, but, rather, it is a question of whether this Congress should exempt one foreign company from the laws of America. This bill is about seizing power from the President of the United States. This bill is about curtailing all Federal and environmental permitting requirements. This bill is about limiting the ability of average U.S. citizens to seek justice through the court system of our Nation. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 3 will remove the Keystone pipeline out of the jurisdiction of State and local courts and will give only one court, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, exclusive jurisdiction over this project, causing undue hardship on ordinary American families, small businesses, and landowners who may or may not have the resources to retain a D.C. lawyer, to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to have their American legal rights heard by this American justice system. Mr. Chairman, I sought to amend this atrocious bill.…”