Keystone XL Pipeline Safety

Floor Speech

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, at a time when our Nation's economy is struggling to recover from our deepest recession in which millions of Americans are looking for work, no one would believe that we would forgo an opportunity to reduce our reliance on Middle Eastern oil and create thousands of American jobs.

Incredibly, that's exactly what happened after the White House announced they would delay decision on approval of the Keystone XL pipeline until 2013, after the elections of November 2012. At a time when our President faced a difficult choice between opposing powers within his base--labor unions and radical environmentalists--he chose to punt rather than lead.

Labor unions support construction of the Keystone XL pipeline because they understand this project has been deemed safe and will create 20,000 direct American jobs and thousands more indirect jobs across our Nation as the pipeline is built. But radical environmentalists and Hollywood activists vehemently oppose the project. In fact, they surrounded the White House in protest of the Keystone XL pipeline, claiming that the project is not environmentally safe. While these protesters made catchy headlines, their claims about the Keystone XL pipeline simply aren't true.

The Keystone XL project has been studied extensively for over 3 years, when TransCanada originally filed an application for a Presidential permit with the Department of State. The Presidential permit review process was conducted by the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, and many other agencies within the Federal Government. After 3 years of comprehensive review and several changes to the project to accommodate environmental concerns, the final report to the White House incorporated 57 project-specific special conditions for the design, construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline. In simple terms, the Keystone XL pipeline was designed to be the safest pipeline the world has ever known.

Here's the truth why the Keystone XL pipeline promises to be the safest pipeline ever. As proposed, the Keystone XL pipeline will be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with the most advanced technologies. It will be buried at a deeper depth than similar pipelines to minimize risk. It will utilize multiple leak detection methods and failsafe shutoff systems, as well as having an emergency response program in place ready to respond if needed.

Critics of the project further claim that the crude transported by the Keystone XL pipeline is highly corrosive ``toxic sludge.'' This is a claim that can only come out of Hollywood, with no facts to support it. Independent analysis and sound science have determined these oils are not corrosive to steel. Canadian oil is already shipped safely across the United States via other Canadian pipelines. Good old-fashioned common sense tells us that no company would try to destroy its own interest by spending billions to construct a pipeline system that is going to be eaten up by the very products it transports.

I'll wrap up my comments with the facts about the Keystone XL pipeline. This project has been exhaustively studied and revised to ensure its safety. Three years of grueling review and detailed analysis by multiple Federal Government agencies have concluded that construction and use of the Keystone pipeline is safe. In August, our Department of State recommended that President Obama approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

Our economy is still teetering on recession. It needs to be strengthened; and we need a safe, reliable supply of energy to grow it. Canada can provide it. They want to provide it, thereby reducing our reliance on Middle Eastern oil and strengthening our national security because we have energy security as a result.

Thousands of new jobs will be created to build this pipeline. Mr. Speaker, I urge the President to approve the Keystone XL pipeline now.

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