Bud Shuster: “I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. Mr. McALLISTER. I commend the gentleman from Louisiana, Congressman…”

“I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. Mr. McALLISTER. I commend the gentleman from Louisiana, Congressman Cassidy, for introducing this bill, which not only fulfills the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 but also protects the rights of private property owners should they be affected by the pipeline route. With my past experience in pipeline construction, I can say that this project is no different from the thousands of other pipelines we lay each year--with one exception: it crosses national borders, giving President Obama the ability to delay it. The President is making political promises when it should be deemed practical. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, let's just sum up. We have the most carbon-intensive way of creating ultimately diesel and gasoline by extracting these tar sands. They contribute 81 percent more greenhouse gases. Of course many on the other side believe that greenhouse gases are potentially beneficial or aren't a problem. We have a foreign entity here that will be exempt from paying taxes, like U.S. entities do, into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. And U.S. taxpayers will be stuck with the bill should a spill occur. We have a foreign entity--granted, they are our friends and neighbors in Canada--but still, a foreign private corporation being given the right of eminent domain over citizens of the State of Nebraska.…”