Letter to Ed Whitfield, Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and Power

Letter

Today Reps. Henry A. Waxman, Bobby L. Rush, John D. Dingell, Edward J. Markey, Eliot L. Engel, Lois Capps, Mike Doyle, Charles A. Gonzalez, and Kathy Castor sent a letter to Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield to request at least one additional day of hearings on draft legislation to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, pursuant to rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. The members are requesting testimony on the pipeline from Koch Industries and other federal agencies to fully understand the effects of the proposed legislation. The members emphasized that the hearing should be scheduled prior to a Subcommittee markup of the legislation.

The full text of the letter is below and also available online here.

January 25, 2012

The Honorable Ed Whitfield
Chairman
Subcommittee on Energy and Power
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Whitfield:

Pursuant to clause 2(j)(1) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, we are writing to request that at least one additional day of hearings be conducted on the subject of today's hearing on draft legislation to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. We further request that this hearing be scheduled before the Subcommittee marks up legislation on this subject.

In particular, we believe that the Subcommittee should hear from other stakeholders, including Koch Industries and other federal agencies, in order to fully understand the effects of this legislation.

We are seeking testimony from Koch to clarify its interests in the pipeline. Last year, a company representative informed the Committee that Koch had no interest in the pipeline. We have since learned, however, that a Koch subsidiary asserted in a Canadian proceeding that it has a "direct and substantial interest" in the pipeline and a Koch-founded advocacy group has launched a political campaign to seek its approval.

We are seeking testimony from other federal agencies because they have permitting obligations that may be affected by this legislation. Other relevant witnesses would also provide value to the Committee's examination of this issue.

Last week, Democratic Committee staff asked whether there would be an opportunity to hear from other stakeholders. On Monday, ranking members Henry Waxman and Bobby Rush wrote to request that testimony from additional witnesses be heard. There has not been a response to these requests. That is why we are invoking our right under rule XI to request such a hearing.

We look forward to setting a mutually acceptable time and place for the additional hearing to garner testimony from witnesses that we have selected, and we thank you for your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman

John D. Dingell

Eliot L. Engel

Charles A. Gonzalez

Kathy Castor

Bobby L. Rush

Edward J. Markey

Lois Capps

Mike Doyle

Source