Keystone XL Pipeline Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the Moran amendment,
which would delist the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species.

To be clear, I appreciate some of the concerns about this listing by
farmers, ranchers, and industry. I am concerned about any unintended
consequences this listing may have on rural New Mexicans. I strongly
support and I assume the Senator from Kansas supports the bipartisan
five-State effort for a thorough review.

The Fish and Wildlife Service took numerous steps in this process to
respond to all stakeholders and to enable habitat conservation and
economic growth. New Mexico has been and continues to be a leader in
cooperative conservation in places where the prairie chicken is found.
Ranchers and oil and gas industries deserve their praise for their
efforts. So it is working and the sky is not falling, but we should not
take this top-down political approach. Listing and delisting of the
species by Congress goes against the intent of the law, which requires
the government to make these decisions based on science, not politics.

I urge my colleagues to vote no.

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Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, let me just say to the two leaders on the
floor who have participated in this open amendment process that I
really appreciate the way Chairwoman Murkowski and Ranking Member
Cantwell have worked through this bill. I really appreciate all their
help.

I have heard, at least on our side of the aisle, over and over that
this is the way the Senate should be moving, this is the way we should
be working. So I think all of us are very appreciative of how the two
managers of the bill have worked together.

I thank my colleagues, and I yield the floor.

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