Keystone XL Pipeline Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, we are about to engage in a historic
debate; that is, over whether the Canadians--a Canadian oil company--
should be allowed to take the dirtiest oil in the world, the Canadian
tar sands oil, to have the United States accede to the construction of
a pipeline, like a straw through our country, which would then go down
to the Gulf of Mexico, with no promise from the Canadians that they
will not export the oil from the United States.

So the issue which is raised, of course, is what is in it for the
United States, since there is a very small number of jobs for our
country once the pipeline is completed? We understand why the Canadian
company wants to do this. If they can get that oil out onto the global
marketplace, using the United States as the conduit, they can get a
dramatically higher price for that oil. We understand their motivation.
But what is in it for the United States of America?

Ultimately, we have to decide what is in our best interests. My
amendment says that if this pipeline is constructed, the oil stays
here, our country gets the benefit, and our consumers get the benefit.
Otherwise, it is not about energy independence; it is not about North
American energy independence. It is about a Canadian company exporting
the oil, using the United States as a conduit, as a straw, as a
pipeline. That is it. What is in it for us?

The American people right now are enjoying historically low oil
prices. They love it. It is like a tax cut to every American. If this
Canadian oil gets exported, you better believe it is going to act as a
spur to raise the price of oil. The more oil that is here, the better
for us. The more oil that leaves our country, the worse for us.

I will give you another number, if you want to know, because this is
a Canadian export pipeline. The United States of America right now is
the leading importing country for oil in the world. We are No. 1. We
import net about 5 million barrels of oil a day. We are No. 1. We are
the No. 1 importing country. Then comes China, then comes India, then
Japan. Five million barrels a day--how can we be exporting oil when we
are the leading importer of oil?

What countries do we import the oil from today, 2015? We import the
oil from Saudi Arabia, from Venezuela, from Iraq, from Russia, from
Nigeria. How can we be exporting our young men and women in uniform
over to the Middle East in order to protect these ships coming in with
oil in them and simultaneously be exporting oil out of the United
States, while we are still importing 5 million barrels of oil a day?

That is what this debate is all about. It does not make any sense.
This is the dirtiest oil in the world. This oil is going to dangerously
add to the warming of the planet. The Canadian--the American Petroleum
Institute will not promise the oil stays here, even though their ads on
TV say that it is all about North American energy independence.

So we have a huge choice we have to make here. Do we want to help our
economy? Do we want to help our national security, help our consumers,
help our manufacturers by giving them this lower price of energy--which
except for labor is the No. 1 component in industry in the United
States--and keep that price low? The Markey amendment says: Yes, that
oil stays here in the United States of America for our own strength,
our own economy, our own consumers, our own job creation, and will not
be sent off onto the world so the Canadian oil company can get a much
higher price for that oil while we take all of the risk. We would not
be Uncle Sam, we would be Uncle Sucker if we did not keep that oil
here.

I reserve the remainder of my time.

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Mr. MARKEY. I thank the Senator very much. Year 2014 has just been
reported by NASA as the single warmest year ever recorded in the
history of the planet, going back to the earliest records. You do not
have to be a detective to figure out what is going on. The world is
dangerously warming. The United States can no longer preach temperance
from a bar stool and tell the rest of the world they should be better
while we continue to burn these fuels.

But if they are going to build this pipeline, at least the American
people should be the beneficiaries of the Canadian activity to sell all
of this oil out onto the global market. What we are being told is: No,
we do not want any restrictions. We do not want there to be any way in
which we can keep that oil here, to keep prices at least low for the
American consumer and for American job creation, to keep oil here so we
can maybe back out the Saudi Arabian oil, maybe back out the Kuwaiti
oil, maybe back out the Russian oil that we are importing right now as
we sit here. But we are being told we cannot do that. We are being told
the Republican leadership thinks that is a bad idea.

When I asked the head of the TransCanada pipeline in the hearing if
he agree to keep the oil in the United States, he just looked at me and
said no. So this is what is going on.

What happens for the American consumer? Well, I will tell you what
happens. It is a very simple formula. Every time there is a $10
increase in the price of a barrel of oil, it knocks two-tenths of a
point to three-tenths of a percentage point off of the growth rate of
the American economy.

When Americans pay less for American oil and we import less foreign
oil, consumers have more money in their pockets from that discounted
American oil. That is like a direct economic stimulus for middle-class
families and small businesses across the country. Analysts say the drop
in oil prices will give hundreds of billions back to consumers and
other parts of our economy. Every penny reduction in gas prices
translates into $1 billion in consumer savings.

So when the polling is done on this issue and the American people are
asked if they would support the exportation of American oil, by a 3-to-
1 margin people say, all across the country, regardless of party: No,
do not export it. Keep that oil here to make America stronger here at
home.

That is not Democrat. That is not Republican. That is not
Independent. That is all people being polled across the board.

That is just common sense because they know the more oil we export,
the higher the prices are going to be for consumers here because we
have less oil. This is a simple debate.

The planet is running a fever. There are no emergency rooms for
planets. We have to engage in preventive care. The Republican
leadership thinks they have the votes in order to pass this bill which
will dangerously warm the planet. My amendment says if that is going to
be the case--and I am not voting for that bill--at least let's keep the
oil here, at least let's get the benefit for consumers so we keep
prices low for gasoline, prices low for home heating oil, prices low
for jet fuel, prices low for diesel. Let's keep the oil here, let's get
the benefit in our economy, and let's not allow oil companies to set
the agenda.

The Republican leadership keeps saying it is all of the above. Ladies
and gentlemen, this bill basically says: No. No, it is oil above all.
That is what it is all about. It is not even oil that is necessarily
going to stay in the United States, so it is a very simple argument I
am making.

We import 5 million barrels of oil a day. They come from the worst
places in the world that we should be dependent upon--5 million barrels
a day. We export young men and women over to the Middle East to protect
that oil coming in. The least we owe to those young men and women is
when we get a chance to reduce our dependence upon imported oil, we
take that chance, that we send that message to the rest of the world
that we understand our Achille's heel. We understand what makes us
weak.

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