Ed Whitfield

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairman, I rise today to support H.R. 1938, the North American-Made Energy Security Act, and give a long overdue green light to the Keystone XL pipeline project. The Keystone XL expansion project would allow up to 1.29 million barrels per day to flow into refineries in the Midwest and gulf coast, a 700,000-barrel-per-day increase over existing capacity from Canada. More oil means lower prices, and more imports from a stable ally like Canada means less from unstable nations and potential adversaries. According to a study conducted for the Department of Energy, the Keystone project has the potential to significantly reduce oil imports from the Middle East. The good news only gets better when one looks at the job impacts of the Keystone project. Construction of the expanded pipeline system alone would create an estimated 20,000 jobs. Unfortunately, the Obama administration continues to delay this project, and there seems to be no end in sight. Let's just look at the timeline to date: In September 2008, TransCanada, the developer of this project, first submitted its application for a Presidential permit. The State Department didn't release its draft environmental impact statement until April 2010. After this first step, EPA rejected the draft statement and told the State Department they had to perform more work. After another year, the State Department issued a supplemental draft statement that addressed EPA's concerns. Even then, EPA seems to think the thousands and thousands of pages of objective and honest analysis performed by various Federal agencies is not enough. Because of the endless delays, H.R. 1938 is a simple bill that calls on the Obama administration to make a decision on this project by November 1, 2011. The administration has stated that they could have a decision by December 16, 2011, so we're only asking them to speed that up a few months, and we're not saying what the decision should be. At a time when the national average of a gallon of gas is $3.70 per gallon and unemployment is still above 9 percent, the Obama administration should be doing everything it can to approve projects expeditiously if they are creating jobs and reducing gasoline prices. H.R. 1938 is a bipartisan bill that cuts through the endless delays and creates a hard deadline for the administration to render a decision on Keystone. It's time to get moving on reducing energy prices, reduce unemployment, and pass this bill. I urge all Members to support this important bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to insert extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, I would remind everyone that in America today, we're using about 22 million barrels of oil a day and that we're producing about 7 million barrels of oil a day in this country. We need more efficiency--there is no question about that--to make better gas mileage. We also have to recognize that we have the responsibility to bring more product into the United States. To do so from Canada would be good for the American people. It would create, it has been said, 20,000 construction jobs at a time when unemployment is at 9.2 percent. We also understand that, if that pipeline does not come to America, it's going to go to west Canada, and then that oil will be going to China. We have to remain competitive in the global marketplace if we're going to create jobs in America, and that's what this pipeline is about. I would remind everyone that we're not short-circuiting any studies. Comprehensive studies have been made, and environmental impact statements have been examined, so I would urge everyone to support this important legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. At this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, at this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner).

Mr. WHITFIELD. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), the author of the bill.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson).

Mr. WHITFIELD. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 530, had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' (By unanimous consent, Mr. Hoyer was allowed to speak out of order.) Congratulating Representative John Dingell on His 85th Birthday

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 504, had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment Offered by Mr. Poe of Texas

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

Mr. WHITFIELD. I yield myself 5 minutes. I would like to say that the American people expect the Congress to provide opportunities for us to fully explore our natural resources. This is a very modest bill that only changes one very small part of the Clean Air Act. It relates explicitly only to exploratory drilling permits, and it changes only appeals to the Environmental Appeals Board. The Environmental Appeals Board is not even in the statute of the Clean Air Act; it was put in by regulation. And what's happening here in the one issue that we're talking about today, the EPA has approved this drilling permit on three separate occasions, yet it's been appealed to the Environmental Appeals Board, and it's tied up and tied up and they will not make a final decision. And if you cannot exhaust your administrative remedies, you cannot even go to the court system. So this legislation simply expedites the process without removing protections for people concerned about the environment, as we all are. And I wanted to make that comment. I would also at this point like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner).

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, my friends on the other side of the aisle would make it appear that we are abandoning all environmental protections, and I would say that under this bill, there are still five opportunities for public comment. The NEPA process is not changed in any way. At this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, I would also like to clarify that this bill does not change the Clean Air Act in any way as it relates to monitoring stationary sources or mobile sources. I wanted to point that out. Second of all, the gentlelady from California mentioned additional drilling going on in the Pacific region. The government records show that since 1994, not one exploratory permit has been issued. There are production wells out there, but not one new exploratory permit since 1994. I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger).

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, I might just also remind everyone that this 5-year, 6-year period for this permit was for only an exploratory permit, not even a production permit. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

Mr. WHITFIELD. I might remind our friend from Massachusetts that EPA actually approved the drilling permit, the exploratory drilling permit for Shell, in this case, on three separate occasions; but the delay has been the appeals by the opposing party to the Environmental Appeals Board, which is not even in the clean air statute. So this bill is simply designed to speed up the process and give people an adequate time to oppose the exploratory permitting. At this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), who's a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, I might just add here that the University of Alaska did a study on this legislation in oil and gas development in Alaska's arctic seas, and they concluded that the full development there would create 54,000 jobs. At this time, I yield 3 minutes to the chairman emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton). (Mr. BARTON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WHITFIELD. At this time, Madam Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the author of this bill, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner).

Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Chair, as we prepare to take up an important piece of legislation today, H.R. 2021, I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).

Mr. WHITFIELD. I yield myself 3 minutes. The gentleman, in his statement, noted that we consume 25 percent of the world's oil, but we possess only 2 percent of the world's reserves. And that's precisely why we're trying to pass this bill, because oil resources can only be counted as proven reserves if they've been fully explored, and we have not had the opportunity to fully explore. And so why should we continue to be dependent on foreign oil when we have not been able to even explore because we have a bureaucratic agency at EPA, the purpose of which is to deny the opportunity to fully explore? This is modest legislation. It simply clarifies that if you have a ship, that ship is going to be treated as a mobile source. If you have a drilling platform, that's going to be treated as a stationary source. If you're drilling, we're going to look at the ambient air quality impact onshore, not offshore. And then we're just going to ask the EPA to eliminate the Environmental Appeals Board for exploratory permits only, nothing else, and to make a decision within 6 months after the completed application is there. I think that this graph adequately demonstrates what our problem is here in America. This is the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. In 1985 we were moving 2.1 million barrels a day through that pipeline. Today, we're down below 600,000 barrels a day. So if we have the reserves, the American people are simply asking us to restore some balance in these Federal agencies. We want to protect the environment, but we also want an opportunity to explore and use our own oil resources, and we have reason to believe that they are abundant. I want to thank Mr. Gardner for his leadership on this issue. And I would urge everyone in this body, just like we had five Democrats in committee who voted for this bill, I think it's imperative for the American people that we do so, and I would urge that we adopt H.R. 2021.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 2021.