Jobs for Alberta, Jobs for America

Floor Speech

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Two weeks ago, I traveled to Fort McMurray in the province of Alberta, in Canada, with subcommittee chairman John Shimkus of Illinois and Congressman Bob Latta of Ohio of the Energy and Commerce Committee. We were accompanied by the Honorable Cal Dallas, the Minister of Intergovernmental, International and Aboriginal Relations for Alberta. We were welcomed to Edmonton by the Honorable Alison Redford, the newly inaugurated Premier of Alberta.

The purpose of this visit was to see firsthand the development of Canadian oil sands and to fully understand the positive impact this exploration has for the American people. We were briefed on the Keystone pipeline and how this project creates jobs. We saw the environmental stewardship where development is subject to environmental standards that are among the most stringent in the world. The Government of Alberta requires that companies remediate and reclaim 100 percent of the land after the oil has been extracted.

This project will connect a growing supply of Canadian oil with the largest refining markets in the United States and will significantly reduce America's reliance on oil from overseas as new jobs are created in Canada and America. As oil sands production grows in the next 4 years, the industry is expected to generate 340,000 new jobs. This is in addition to the 110,000 jobs currently provided. There are more than 900 American businesses that supply goods and services for the Canadian oil sands development.

In my home State of South Carolina, oil sands development will add up to $128 million per year to the State's economy, and it will support nearly 2,000 jobs per year. Companies in South Carolina supply equipment, parts and services used in the oil sands projects and pipelines.

In this picture, we are standing in front of a 12-foot-high tire made by Michelin in Lexington County, South Carolina. Each tire is valued at $60,000. The Michelin plants in Lexington currently employ over 500 people in the Earth-mover division. The tire manufacturer also has facilities in the upcountry of our State, with their North American headquarters in Greenville.

There are also over 100 large mine haul trucks operating in the oil sands, powered by MTU engines. The engines are produced in Aiken County, South Carolina. By next year, the plant in Graniteville will be producing MTU's largest engine for the haul truck market. When MTU announced last year that Aiken County was to be its home for its new manufacturing facility, the company pledged to invest $45 million and to create 250 new jobs over 4 years. However, last month, plant officials said MTU is already employing 250 people and will achieve its investment goal by the end of this year.

It's very simple. If Canadian families do well, American families do well. For every dollar the U.S. spends on imports from Canada, 90 cents is returned to the American economy, paying for equipment and services. Developing the oil sands is clearly more jobs for Canada and more jobs for America. We all know our country needs to be less dependent on oil from overseas. Canada's oil sands are clearly mutually beneficial to Canada and America and the security of North America.

Very significantly, Canada's enormous deposits of 175.2 billion barrels of proven reserves of oil place it third in the world, and 170 billion of these barrels are in the oil sands. These deposits place Canada as one of the central sources of production growth in the coming decades. It represents about 60 percent of the world's accessible oil, which is right here in our neighborhood. I am grateful that Canada is our largest trading partner and the largest supplier of oil to America. Canada contributes 22 percent of the total oil imports for America's daily use of 19.1 million barrels.

Congress has indicated its support for oil sands. In July, we passed the North American-Made Energy Security Act. This bill urges the President to approve the pipeline. I appreciate jobs for Alberta which produce jobs for America.

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