Keystone XL Pipeline

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I applaud, first of all, the Senator from
North Dakota for his leadership on this most important issue and his
commitment to making it a priority for this Senate, the first bill
introduced into this Senate. I also applaud the Senator from West
Virginia; one example of, as we sit in this Chamber today, Republicans
and Democrats discussing and supporting the Keystone XL Pipeline.

I reiterate many of the comments expressed by my colleagues and
convey the importance of this pipeline, because as the Senator from
North Dakota mentioned and showed on his map, the very first State the
Keystone Pipeline enters as it comes from Canada is the State of
Montana. Let me tell you something. It is not just a pipeline. This is
also changing the way of life and economic stimulus for our great
State.

I spend a lot of time traveling around the State in my pickup. As I
drive around Eastern Montana, where the Keystone Pipeline will travel,
I recognize this is a lifeline for many of our rural communities. In
fact, Circle, MT--Circle, MT, is a small town of around 600 people. It
is located in McCone County. It is one of six Montana counties that the
Keystone XL Pipeline will run through. Circle, similar to a lot of
small communities in Montana, has experienced the same economic and
population declines that other towns have faced in recent years.

In fact, the county has significant infrastructure needs that have
gone unresolved in the wake of a shrinking tax base. For towns such as
Circle, the Keystone XL Pipeline is not just about energy. It
represents economic opportunity and hope for the future. You see,
McCone County alone would see $18 million in property tax revenue from
the Keystone Pipeline construction. That is just in the pipeline's
first year of operation. That is money for neighborhoods. It is money
for roads, not to mention the influx of jobs for the area.

Another $45 million would be distributed among five other Montana
counties, and $16 million would go to Montana's schools and university
systems. You see, the Keystone XL Pipeline means lower energy costs for
Montana families, for our senior citizens, and for small businesses.

In Glasgow, MT--I remember traveling in my pickup into Glasgow. I met
with the NorVal Electric Co-op. They told me that if the Keystone
Pipeline is approved, they will hold electric rates flat for their
customers for the next 10 years. That is several thousand Montana
families up in the northeast part of our State.

The reason for that is because they will supply electricity to these
pump stations on the Keystone Pipeline. If the Keystone Pipeline is not
approved, those ratepayers will see an approximate 40-percent increase
in their utility rates over the next 10 years. That is a potential
increase of $480 per year for the average household in Montana.

As the Senator from North Dakota mentioned, 100,000 barrels a day of
the oil traveling through the Keystone Pipeline will be Montana and
North Dakota oil. That supports the Bakken formation. With the
revolution of hydraulic fracturing, what it is creating now is lower
gas prices at the pump today.

Montanans know this pipeline is not just a lofty idea or some kind of
DC-based rhetoric. It is hope for the people of my State. It is a
tangible result and a solution that Montanans deserve. I have to tell
you, that is why it is so disappointing that once again we are seeing
the President and some Senate Democrats playing political games and
perpetuating the 6 years of gridlock that have held back this job-
creating project.

Rather than putting the American people first, the President has
threatened to refuse the people of Montana their right to determine
their economic future. It took the Canadians just 7 months to approve
their end of the Keystone Pipeline. It has taken this President more
than 6 years. That is 6 years without the hundreds of good-paying jobs
that will be created in Montana and thousands more across the Nation.

That is 6 years without millions of dollars in critical revenue for
Montana schools, for infrastructure, for teachers. That is 6 years
without the answers and actions that Montanans deserve. I think the
pipeline checks every box of common sense. It is environmentally sound,
it creates jobs, it is economic opportunity, and it is going to help us
move toward North American energy independence.

So the question is: Why are we still waiting? The people of Montana,
the people of this country have said they have had enough. That is why
we are here today speaking in support of this important project. I am
proud the Senate is taking steps to move forward with the Keystone XL
Pipeline. I know the House intends to do the same shortly. President
Obama can continue to obstruct progress on American jobs and American
energy independence, but the American people have sent a strong message
that they are ready to remove any roadblocks that President Obama
intends to put in the way.

The time for partisanship, the time for political games is over. It
is time the Congress and this government gets to work for the American
people and starts getting results for this country.

The polls are clear. Sixty-seven percent of the American people want
the Keystone Pipeline approved.

Seventy-five percent of Montanans want the Keystone Pipeline
approved. Prior to serving in Congress, I spent 28 years in the private
sector, where we were focused on getting results in the real world. It
seems only in DC are we outside of the real world of doing something
and getting results on behalf of the American people. That starts with
approving the Keystone XL Pipeline.

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