On the recordJuly 26, 2011
I offer an amendment. The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 6, after line 24, insert the following new paragraph: (18) The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would run through the Ogallala aquifer, risking an oil spill into one of the world's largest freshwater aquifers that provides 30 percent of the groundwater used for irrigation in the United States and drinking water for millions of Americans. Even a small, undetected leak from an underground rupture of the pipeline in the Nebraska Sandhills could pollute almost 5,000,000,000 gallons of groundwater--enough oil to pose serious health threats to anyone using the underlying Ogallala Aquifer for drinking water or agriculture. The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 370, the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Vermont.
