02.11.15

Hoeven Statement on House Passage of the Keystone XL Approval Legislation

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to House passage of his legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline project using Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution:

“I want to thank the House for passing the Senate version of this bill so that we can send it directly to the president rather than to conference committee. The Keystone XL pipeline project is about energy, jobs and economic growth. It’s about national security through energy security.

“Both the Senate and House have now passed a bipartisan bill to approve the project, the American people have expressed their overwhelming support for it in a score of polls, and every state along the pipelines route has signed off on the project. Further, the State Department has found that the project will have no significant impact on the environment, not once, but in three draft and two final environmental reviews over a span of six years.

“So it’s remarkable that on the same day we pass the Keystone XL approval bill through Congress, President Obama is asking Congress to work with him to pass a three-year Authorization to Use Military Force to send our troops and combat resources into another Middle Eastern conflict. He’s asking us to work with him, and we’re asking him to work with us on behalf of the American people to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project, which will help to make our nation more secure by reducing our dependence on the Middle East for energy.

“We need more than an authorization to use military force; we need a long-term strategy for national security that includes energy security. President Obama now has ten days to sign or veto this bill. If he vetoes it, we will continue to press for approval by attaching an approval measure to another bill, perhaps an energy bill or must-pass appropriations legislation. He needs to work with Congress in a bipartisan way and approve the Keystone XL pipeline project for the American people.”

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