Political Quotes

“I wish to respond regarding the legislation that is currently on the floor in several regards. I would like to discuss some of the environmental arguments that have been brought up. I wish to also reference the issue of export as well as touch on some of the comments of the President relative to this project and comments others have made regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline approval bill, S. 1, being the first bill we brought up. One of the things we hear is, well, this is a private investment, it is $8 billion, but we should somehow be doing something else. The reality is this is an $8 billion shovel-ready project, good to go. It is vital energy infrastructure for this country. So it is important in its own right. To compare it to the highway bill, which is all funded by Federal tax dollars, whereas this is a private investment which is going to generate revenues in addition to providing vital infrastructure and providing jobs--that is not a fair comparison. The point in bringing up this bill first was not only because this is important energy infrastructure but also because we wanted to try to get the Senate back to regular order, to an open amendment process. We just spent the last session and even before where we couldn't get amendments offered. Whether Republican or Democrat, we could not come to the floor of this body--the most deliberative body in government-- and offer amendments, have the debate, and get a vote.…”