Congressman Ratcliffe Cosponsors and Votes to Approve Keystone XL

Press Release

In a major effort to pass legislation that would benefit the Fourth District of Texas, Congressman John Ratcliffe's first order of business was to be an original cosponsor of legislation to approve and build the Keystone XL Pipeline. The full U.S. House of Representatives moved to pass the legislation this Friday, January 9th.

On September 19, 2008, the Canadian energy and infrastructure company TransCanada filed an application with the U.S. Department of State to build the Keystone XL pipeline, an expansion of the existing Keystone pipeline. The landmark Keystone XL pipeline expansion would carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day 875 miles from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska. From there, the oil would go to refineries in the Midwest and Texas. Additionally, the existing pipeline contains 6 Pump Stations in the state of Texas, one of which, PS-36, is in Delta County.

"I am proud to have my name on this commonsense piece of legislation that will create good-paying American jobs while growing our economy and supporting increased manufacturing and trade," said Ratcliffe. "Let's get more of these conservative, job-creating measures passed. It's unacceptable that legislation like this has been stuck in the Senate while too many Americans sit around without jobs. That's why I was sent here, to put true conservative solutions, like this bill, into law."

The State Department's estimates that "during construction, proposed Project spending would support approximately 42,100 jobs (direct, indirect, and induced), and approximately $2 billion in earnings throughout the United States." To put this impact into perspective, the 42,000 jobs its passage will create is 12,000 more than the total unemployed population across the entire 4th Congressional District.

President Obama has since vowed to veto the legislation, even if it passes through both chambers of Congress. "Unfortunately, President Obama is indicating that he'll veto this legislation if it passes through both houses of Congress. I hope and pray that this is just an idle political threat-- because if it's not, the president is intentionally harming the middle-class Americans who will benefit from this great job creating and income producing legislation. I hope and pray that our president won't play politics with legislation that provides opportunities for tens of thousands of Americans to get jobs and support their families," said Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe's vote in favor of the Keystone XL Pipeline caps off a busy week of passing conservative legislation. He also cosponsored H.R. 30, The Save American Workers Act of 2015 which restores the 40 hour work week, repealing the 30 hour provision under Obamacare. Ratcliffe also signed on as a cosponsors to a balanced budget amendment and repeal of the medical device tax. Next week, he intends to support legislation which defunds the President's executive amnesty.

"I was sent to Washington to deliver results for the hard-working people in my district, and that's what I intend to do," said Ratcliffe. "Ultimately, I will be judged by my legislative record -- what I support, what I oppose, and what I introduce. I'm proud of the conservative bills we passed this week, but this is just the start. I will work tirelessly to combat the President's lawlessness, restore fiscal sanity, secure our borders, repeal Obamacare, and defend the Constitution."

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