Randy Weber: “Thank you for recognizing me to speak in favor of my amendment on this very important legislation. I want to thank Mr.…”

“Thank you for recognizing me to speak in favor of my amendment on this very important legislation. I want to thank Mr. Terry for leading on an issue that is crucial to our economic recovery and our energy future. Rather than wait around for further delays--1,700 days and counting--and excuses from the President, Mr. Terry has taken action to deliver the jobs and energy security that this administration so frequently promises to the American people. Last week marked 1,700 days, that's 4.65 years, since the first permit application was filed for Keystone. Let me put that in perspective. I have a granddaughter who will be 2 years old in July. Had she been born when this permit was filed, she would be entering kindergarten this coming fall. Her name is Kate Liberty, by the way. She's the cutest thing this side of the Atlantic. During that time, the State Department has produced, as the whip said, over 15,000 pages of environmental impact assessment, which have been endlessly discussed, debated, and deconstructed. Hundreds of thousands of public comments were made on these documents, and public meetings were held across the country in multiple States. However, in 2012, President Obama rejected the first permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline, claiming that the deadline which required him to make a decision prevented a ``full assessment'' of the pipeline's impact.…”