MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Keystone XL Pipeline
Interview
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For more let me bring in Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. Senator good to have you with us tonight and thank you for your work and your stands on the environment, you`re way ahead to the curve, you`re out and in front of a lot of law makers in this country. I want your responds senator to this Keystone minimum wage compromise that`s being flooded.
SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, (D) RHODE ISLAND: I think the Keystone project should fall on its own merits. The effort that the coal and oil industry is making to big foot through congress with the old fashion techniques of arm twisting and bullying and throwing money around is really -- it`s unpleasant to watch and it`s wrong on the facts. It`s really a contest between the science and the truth and taking care of our children and grandchildren and knowing what we know. And a lobby that`s simply can`t say enough and is using saying every tactic it can get its hands on to try t bully it`s way through this issue.
And at some point we`ve got to stand for something. And at some point we`ve got to stand up for what`s true and for what`s real and for what`s going to matter to our grandchildren and not just a quick hit from the oil company lobbyist.
SCHULTZ: Senator how credible and how important is this most recent report that came out today?
WHITEHOUSE: It`s important. It`s very credible. It`s the top American scientist. It`s people from all of the agencies that we trust, including places like NASA. Remember NASA, they are the people that put an SUV size the vehicle on the surface of Mars and they`re driving it around. You think they know what they`re doing? And there`s scientist, they`re saying, "Look, this climate change thing is serious." The Department of Defense, it`s quadrennial reviews, climate changed is serious. We got to do something about it.
Admiral Loclear, the head of Pacific Command says that the biggest risk we`ve got out there of all the risks that they prepared for any pacific relate to climate changed. So for the oil industry they try to bully congress into pretending that this isn`t real is as you said ultimately, they`re digging they`re own grave. And they should try to come around and be sensible about this. But once you`ve been a bully it`s hard to learn a different set of strategies.
SCHULTZ: Senator, after this report, do you believe that the president has enough information to say no to this pipeline?
WHITEHOUSE: You know, even that report that the State Department did gives the President enough information to say no to this pipeline. That reports says that you run the Tar Sands fuel through this pipeline and then to the market and you add the carbon equivalent or 5.7 million cars, 5.7 million cars. You think how hard the Obama administration work to bring down the mileage standard so that we get more mileage and we get better carbon results from our fleet and now you turn around and you`re going to undo most of that with one bad decision.
I don`t see that happening.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
WHITEHOUSE: .and I particularly don`t see it from Secretary Curry. Secretary Curry is passionate about protecting the atmosphere and the oceans from all this carbon pollution. I think it`s really hard.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
WHITEHOUSE: .to imagine that he`d be willing to get rolled by big oil and big coal.
SCHULTZ: And finally Senator, describe this vote that`s going to take place in the senate later this week. What does it really mean, if anything?
WHITEHOUSE: Well we need to see what the vote is. The Republicans are running the goal post all around the field, trying to make sure that we can`t actually end up getting to a sensible vote. It started with just a sense of the senate than it was a dispositive vote, then it loaded up for the whole bunch of other things. I don`t know what they`re still tying to add on to it. If we end up with the Keystone vote, it could be a sense to the Senate. But I think Harry has already agreed to having a vote on the merits. And I think what we`ll do is we`ll win that vote and then we`ll move on.
But with any luck we`ll be able to pass the bi- partisan Shaheen-Portman Efficiency Bill which is an important .
SCHULTZ: Sure.
WHITEHOUSE: . piece of legislation.
SCHULTZ: All right Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, great to have you with us tonight sir. I appreciate .
WHITEHOUSE: Good to be with you Ed.
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