11.12.14

Hoeven Statement on Bringing His Bill to Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline to the Senate Floor for a Vote

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement regarding Senator Mary Landrieu’s move to bring S. 2280, his Keystone XL approval bill to the Senate floor for a vote:

“Senator Landrieu today asked that my bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline be brought up for a vote. On that bill we have all 45 Republicans, plus eleven Democrats, for a total of 56 cosponsors. Now, Senator Landrieu believes she can bring four more Democrats to get to the required 60 votes to pass and get Senator Reid to allow a vote.

“I have been working for years to pass this legislation, and now the Democratic caucus seems ready to move on it. Elections have consequences. All along, I have said – and I believe – we will pass Keystone because the American people support it. I thought we would have to wait until the new Congress is seated to have the 60 votes. But if 15 Democrats will join us, we can pass the bill now, and we should.

“The Keystone XL pipeline is about energy, jobs, helping to grow our economy and increasing national security by increasing energy security. We do not want to depend on the Middle East for oil when we can produce it at home, along with our closest ally Canada. But to have a sound energy plan, we need the infrastructure to move that energy to market, safely and efficiently.

“Pipelines like the Keystone XL are a vital part of that infrastructure – to move not only oil from Canada, but also from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and Montana.”