Joe Barton: “But these jobs can't happen unless Keystone XL gets built.”

There's a saying that a lot of us use quite a bit. It's called no good deed goes unpunished.

But I also think I speak for the majority and the minority that we hope that this is something that can move reasonably expeditiously and that means actually end up in a bill the President signs in this Congress.

It doesn't change the basic mission statement. It doesn't change the authorized level of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

I don't want to speak for the Department of Energy, but the draft legislation allows, without going through the appropriation process, funds generated by using this facility for private purposes to be used for maintenance of the facility.