I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3537 
To require the Secretary of State to act on a permit for the Keystone 
XL pipeline. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 1, 2011 
Mr. REHBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com-
mittees on Foreign Affairs, Energy and Commerce, and Natural Re-
sources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of State to act on a permit for 
the Keystone XL pipeline. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North American En-
ergy Security Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) United States overdependence on oil im-
ports from hostile or unstable regions damages 
United States national security, endangers the econ-
omy of the United States, puts the lives of military 
and civilian personnel at risk, and ensures that ac-
cess to oil imports comes at tremendous taxpayer ex-
pense; 
(2) the United States imports more than half of 
the oil it consumes, much of it from countries that 
do not have the level of environmental standards of 
Canada and the United States and that are hostile 
to United States interests or that have political and 
economic instability that compromises supply secu-
rity; 
(3) while a significant portion of the United 
States’ oil imports are derived from allies such as 
Canada and Mexico, the United States remains vul-
nerable to substantial supply disruptions created by 
geopolitical tumult in major oil-producing nations; 
(4) strong increases in oil consumption in the 
developing world outpace growth in oil supplies, 
bringing tight market conditions and higher oil 
prices in periods of global economic expansion or 
when supplies are threatened; 
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(5) the development and delivery of oil from 
Canada to the United States is in the national inter-
est of the United States by helping to secure reliable 
oil supplies to meet demand that is otherwise pro-
jected to be met by increases in imports from less 
secure and reliable suppliers; 
(6) secure and reliable trade with Canada com-
plements United States domestic energy priorities; 
(7) continued development of North American 
energy resources, including Canadian oil, increases 
the access of domestic refiners to stable and reliable 
sources of crude oil and improves the certainty of 
fuel supply for the Department of Defense, the larg-
est consumer of petroleum in the United States; 
(8)(A) Canada and the United States have the 
largest 2-way trading relationship in the world; 
(B) for every United States dollar spent on 
products from Canada, including oil, 90 cents is re-
turned to the United States economy; and 
(C) when the same metrics are applied to trad-
ing relationships with some other major sources of 
United States crude oil imports, returns are much 
lower; 
(9)(A) the principal choice for Canadian oil ex-
porters is between moving increasing crude oil vol-
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umes to the United States or Asia, particularly 
China; and 
(B) increased Canadian oil exports to China 
would result in increased crude oil imports to the 
United States from less secure and reliable foreign 
sources, many of which do not have the level of envi-
ronmental standards of Canada and the United 
States; 
(10) increased Canadian crude oil imports into 
the United States correspondingly reduces the scale 
of wealth transfers to other more distant foreign 
sources resulting from the greater cost of trans-
porting crude oil from those sources; 
(11) not only are United States companies 
major investors in Canadian oil sands, but many 
United States businesses throughout the United 
States benefit from supplying goods and services re-
quired for ongoing Canadian oil sands operations 
and expansion; 
(12) there has been more than 3 years of con-
sideration and a coordinated review by more than a 
dozen Federal agencies of the technical aspects and 
of the environmental, social, and economic impacts 
of the proposed pipeline project known as the Key-
stone XL from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Ne-
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braska, and then on to the United States Gulf Coast 
through Cushing, Oklahoma; 
(13) the Keystone XL pipeline represents a 
high capacity pipeline supply option that could meet 
near, as well as long-term, market demand for crude 
oil to United States refineries, and could also poten-
tially bring over 100,000 barrels per day of United 
States Bakken crude oil to market; 
(14) completion of the Keystone XL pipeline 
would increase total Keystone pipeline system capac-
ity by 700,000 barrels per day to 1,290,000 barrels 
per day; 
(15) the Keystone XL pipeline would directly 
create 20,000 jobs and many more long-term jobs 
and related labor income benefits through the supply 
chain; 
(16) the earliest possible construction of the 
Keystone XL pipeline will increase the quantity of 
proven and potential reserves of Canadian oil avail-
able for United States use and increase United 
States jobs and will, as a result, serve the national 
interest; 
(17) the Keystone XL pipeline would be state- 
of-the-art and be constructed to meet the highest 
safety standards; and 
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(18) as a result of the extensive governmental 
studies already made with respect to the Keystone 
XL project and the national interest in early delivery 
of Canadian oil to United States markets, a decision 
with respect to a Presidential permit for the Key-
stone XL pipeline should be promptly issued without 
further administrative delay or impediment. 
SEC. 3. PERMIT FOR KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the President, acting through the Secretary 
of State, shall grant a permit under Executive Order 
13337 (3 U.S.C. 301 note; relating to issuance of permits 
with respect to certain energy-related facilities and land 
transportation crossings on the international boundaries 
of the United States) for the Keystone XL pipeline project 
application filed on September 19, 2008 (including amend-
ments). 
(b) EXCEPTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall not be 
required to grant the permit under subsection (a) if 
the President determines that the Keystone XL 
pipeline would not serve the national interest. 
(2) REPORT.—If the President determines that 
the Keystone XL pipeline is not in the national in-
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terest under paragraph (1), the President shall, not 
later than 15 days after the date of the determina-
tion, submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives, the majority leader of 
the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the 
minority leader of the House of Representatives a 
report that provides a justification for determina-
tion, including consideration of economic, employ-
ment, energy security, foreign policy, trade, and en-
vironmental factors. 
(3) EFFECT OF NO FINDING OR ACTION.—If a 
determination is not made under paragraph (1) and 
no action is taken by the President under subsection 
(a) not later than 60 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the permit for the Keystone XL 
pipeline described in subsection (a) that meets the 
requirements of subsections (c) and (d) shall be in 
effect by operation of law. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The permit granted under sub-
section (a) shall require the following: 
(1) The permittee shall comply with all applica-
ble Federal and State laws (including regulations) 
and all applicable industrial codes regarding the con-
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struction, connection, operation, and maintenance of 
the United States facilities. 
(2) The permittee shall obtain all requisite per-
mits from Canadian authorities and relevant Fed-
eral, State, and local governmental agencies. 
(3) The permittee shall take all appropriate 
measures to prevent or mitigate any adverse envi-
ronmental impact or disruption of historic properties 
in connection with the construction, operation, and 
maintenance of the United States facilities. 
(4) For the purpose of the permit issued under 
subsection (a) (regardless of any modifications under 
subsection (d))— 
(A) the final environmental impact state-
ment issued by the Secretary of State on Au-
gust 26, 2011, satisfies all requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and section 106 of the Na-
tional Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
470f); 
(B) any modification required by the Sec-
retary of State to the Plan described in para-
graph (5)(A) shall not require supplementation 
of the final environmental impact statement de-
scribed in that paragraph; and 
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(C) no further Federal environmental re-
view shall be required. 
(5) The construction, operation, and mainte-
nance of the facilities shall be in all material re-
spects similar to that described in the application 
described in subsection (a) and— 
(A) in accordance with the construction, 
mitigation, and reclamation measures agreed to 
by the permittee in the Construction Mitigation 
and Reclamation Plan found in appendix B of 
the final environmental impact statement issued 
by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, 
subject to the modification described in sub-
section (d); 
(B) the special conditions agreed to be-
tween the permittee and the Administrator of 
the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Ad-
ministration of the Department of Transpor-
tation found in appendix U of the final environ-
mental impact statement described in subpara-
graph (A); 
(C) if the modified route submitted by the 
Governor 
of 
Nebraska 
under 
subsection 
(d)(3)(B) crosses the Sand Hills region, the 
measures agreed to by the permittee for the 
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Sand Hills region found in appendix H of the 
final environmental impact statement described 
in subparagraph (A); and 
(D) the stipulations identified in appendix 
S of the final environmental impact statement 
described in subparagraph (A). 
(6) Other requirements that are standard in-
dustry practice or commonly included in Federal 
permits that are similar to a permit issued under 
subsection (a). 
(d) MODIFICATION.—The permit issued under sub-
section (a) shall require— 
(1) the reconsideration of routing of the Key-
stone XL pipeline within the State of Nebraska; 
(2) a review period during which routing within 
the State of Nebraska may be reconsidered and the 
route of the Keystone XL pipeline through the State 
altered with any accompanying modification to the 
Plan described in subsection (c)(5)(A); and 
(3) the President— 
(A) to coordinate review with the State of 
Nebraska and provide any necessary data and 
reasonable technical assistance material to the 
review process required under this subsection; 
and 
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(B) to approve the route within the State 
of Nebraska that has been submitted to the 
Secretary of State by the Governor of Ne-
braska. 
(e) EFFECT OF NO APPROVAL.—If the President 
does not approve the route within the State of Nebraska 
submitted by the Governor of Nebraska under subsection 
(d)(3)(B) not later than 10 days after the date of submis-
sion, the route submitted by the Governor of Nebraska 
under subsection (d)(3)(B) shall be considered approved, 
pursuant to the terms of the permit described in sub-
section (a) that meets the requirements of subsection (c) 
and this subsection, by operation of law. 
Æ 
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