John Cornyn: “I want to express my appreciation to the Senator from North Dakota for his leadership on this issue. He has been…”

“I want to express my appreciation to the Senator from North Dakota for his leadership on this issue. He has been relentless in pursuit of this Presidential permit to authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline because he recognizes, as I do, that it is important in terms of jobs, energy security, and national security. It has been said that because of the revolution in natural gas production in America, and as a result of horizontal drilling and fracking--combined with the energy we can get from the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada--that North America could potentially be energy independent--North American energy independence--in the not-too-distant future. The Senator from Louisiana is scheduled to be here as well. This is a bipartisan effort, as all successful efforts around here must be. Before Senator Landrieu speaks, I want to talk about the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would create an estimated 20,000 American jobs in construction and manufacturing in my State, which still is the No. 1 energy-producing State in the Nation. As a result, job growth in Texas is outpacing most of the rest of the country. I would add that North Dakota is now the second largest energy producer in the country thanks to the Bakken shale efforts. In Texas alone the Keystone would lead up to $1.6 billion worth of direct investments and would boost our State's economic output by an estimated $2 billion.…”