Orrin Hatch: “I wish to thank my distinguished colleague for leading this fight. He has been leading it for years now. It is such a…”

“I wish to thank my distinguished colleague for leading this fight. He has been leading it for years now. It is such a no-brainer. It is amazing to me that we have to go through this again. I thank him for yielding to me, and I would like to associate myself with the many persuasive arguments that have been made here by my colleagues--both Democratic and Republican--urging the speedy passage of this legislation. To me, the decision to approve this pipeline is an obvious one for a host of reasons: It will support more than 42,000 good-paying jobs. I didn't quite get what the assistant minority leader was saying today on how few jobs it will create. It actually will support more than 42,000 good-paying jobs during its construction phase. It will contribute more than $3.4 billion to our gross domestic product. It will aid in the goal of North American energy independence. As the State Department's environmental impact statement found, building the Keystone XL Pipeline will actually be better for the environment than not building it. The energy resources the Canadians produce will reach the market regardless of whether this pipeline is built, and Keystone XL is by far the safest, cleanest, and most efficient means of doing so. What are the arguments against it other than phony environmental arguments? That was the State Department, controlled by them.…”