Oiling the Way for the Keystone XL Pipeline (H.R. 3703)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 3703?
(Updated November 16, 2018)
This bill would pave the way for the completion of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
The Keystone pipeline system is a network of oil pipelines that transport crude oil extracted from Alberta, Canada to refineries across America. The TransCanada Corporation, the owner of the pipeline, has completed several portions in the United States. But approval for the XL Pipeline, which would include a stretch from Canada to Nebraska, and then a separate portion from Kansas to the Texas Gulf Coast, has been held up indefinitely by the Obama administration for two years due to environmental concerns.
H.R. 3703 would direct the Secretary of State to remove the legal obstacles blocking the proposed extension, allowing roughly 1,700 miles of pipeline to be built between Nebraska and the Gulf Coast. Here’s how it would be done:
- The Secretary of State would issue a Presidential permit approving TransCanada’s application for the pipeline, including its proposed re-route through Nebraska.
- The Secretary would also issue a final environmental impact statement and evaluation report stating that the project won’t result in significant harm to the environment, endangered species or historic lands.
- Senior federal officials who delay permits or environmental reports for the XL pipeline would be punished with a 75 percent cap on their salaries.
Argument in favor
Building the Keystone XL will generate thousands of jobs in the U.S., strengthen the country’s domestic energy supply, and potentially draw in billions of investment dollars.
Argument opposed
Keystone XL will transport tar sand oils—one of the world’s dirtiest fossil fuels—across thousands of miles of American soil, where a single spill could harm scores of ecosystems, watersheds, and people.
Impact
People living in Alberta, Montana North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. The construction industry, the oil refining industry, the TransCanada Corporation. Potentially the Ogallala Aquifer.
Cost of H.R. 3703
The CBO does not have a cost estimate at this time.
Additional Info
In Depth:
The Keystone XL project has been stalled since 2008, when TransCanada first filed an application for the pipeline. The State Department, which has to approve projects that cross the U.S. border, is still determining whether or not to grant a permit to the company.
Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly tried to pass legislation to get the pipeline up and running with no luck. But that could change in November, when Republicans, who overwhelmingly support the XL Pipeline, are expected to gain a majority in both houses of Congress. Of course, President Obama would still have to sign off on any bill related to Keystone, but he would face greater political pressure to do so.
That said, it’s very much up in the air whether Obama will greenlight the XL Pipeline during his remaining two years in office. In a speech from 2013, Obama announced that the pipeline would have to avoid contributing significantly to climate change in order to win his approval. That’s a pretty tall order for a project that is expected to move 800,000 barrels worth of crude oil every day.
Environmentalists in particular are anxiously waiting to see if Obama will take a firmer stand against the XL Pipeline. The President allowed a comprehensive climate-change bill to die in the Senate in 2009, which left some activists skeptical about whether the White House really has its heart in the fight.
Media:
Keystone XL
(Photo Credit: Flickr user rcbodden)
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