Message from Congressman Mike Ross

The Energy & Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Thursday introduced by U.S. Congressman Mike Ross of Prescott to expedite the analysis and decision process regarding the construction and operation of a pipeline that would carry crude oil from Canada to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. The North American-Made Energy Security Act, H.R. 1938, which Ross introduced with U.S. Congressman Lee Terry, R-Neb., passed the committee with bipartisan support on a vote of 33 to 13 and will now be sent to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

Ross, who is a member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, said his bill will expedite a final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would allow millions of barrels of Canadian oil supplies to flow into U.S. markets. Specifically, the legislation would require the president to issue a final Presidential Permit decision by November 1, 2011. The pipeline has been the subject of more than 30 months of consideration and a coordinated review by more than a dozen federal agencies. All other cross-border pipelines which have received Presidential Permits have taken between 18 and 24 months.

“The unrest in Libya and the indecisiveness of OPEC are proof that it is in our nation’s financial and national security interests to reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil as soon as possible,” said Ross. “We will never fully revive our economy until we lower gas prices in the short term, and stabilize gas prices in the long term. This Canada-to-Gulf pipeline will carry about one million barrels of North American oil a day to refineries on the Gulf, creating jobs here at home and lowering the price of fuel for all Americans. I’m pleased the committee passed this bill and I will continue to push for its passage in the full House of Representatives.”

Completion of the Keystone XL pipeline would bring about one million barrels of oil per day to U.S. markets – an amount that greatly exceeds the 30 million barrels the Energy Department recently announced it plans to release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Construction of the pipeline expansion is estimated to directly and indirectly create more than 100,000 U.S. private-sector jobs. In fact, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Laborers’ International Union of North America, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the U.S. and Canada wrote a letter to Congress urging the passage of the bill arguing the project will generate $6.5 billion in income for workers.

“This is a straightforward action the government can take to create private-sector jobs, boost economic development and lower the price of fuel for all Americans,” said Ross. “The federal government has dragged its feet for way too long on this project and we are simply asking that it set a timetable and make a decision by November 1, 2011. Our nation must take serious steps to reduce our dependence on oil from OPEC and the Middle East because Americans need a stable, affordable supply of energy. The high costs of gas and other forms of energy continue to make it harder for Arkansas's working families to make ends meet and I will keep working hard in Congress to lower the price at the pump and secure our nation’s long-term energy security.”