Ed Whitfield: “In conclusion, I would like to point out a couple of things. First of all, this was a significant issue in the last…”

“In conclusion, I would like to point out a couple of things. First of all, this was a significant issue in the last election just a couple of months ago. This is a piece of legislation about the American people, not a Canadian oil company. In polls, 72 percent of the American people say they support this legislation. This is about jobs for people in America who need jobs. This is about increasing the energy infrastructure of our country. This is also a project that would not include one dime from the Federal Government. It is going to be at a cost of approximately $7 billion of private funds that will create a lot of jobs and make us less dependent on foreign oil. The application for the Keystone pipeline was filed in September of 2008. There are 2.6 million miles of pipelines in America. Most of those pipelines do not have to be approved by the President of the United States, but in this particular pipeline, since it crosses into the country from Canada to the U.S., the President must approve it. The President has said that one reason he is not going to approve it is because of litigation in Nebraska, which ended today in favor of the Governor of Nebraska who supports this pipeline. The second ostensible reason for the President to oppose it is CO<INF>2</INF> emissions; yet the Secretary of State's office under Hillary Clinton and Mr.…”