Date: 2013-05-22
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I rise to speak about the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and the legislation before us. H.R. 3. Mr. Chair. the Keystone XL project proposed by TransCanada. a Canadian company. would build new pipeline to transport Alberta oil sands crude and crude oil produced in North Dakota and Montana to a market hub in Nebraska. and from there to Gulf Coast refineries. The proposed pipeline would deliver an estimated 830.000 barrels of oil per day. One of the most appealing aspects of the project is the positive economic impact it is expected to have on the economy. Let me just take one States economy and realize what would happen with this particular effort. There would be a $2.3 billion investment in the Texas economy. creating more than 50.000 jobs in the Houston area. providing $48 million in State and local taxes. increase the gross State product by $1.9 billion. Although I favor the job creation potential of the Keystone XL Pipeline project however. the legislation contains several provisions that are of great concern to me. First. because the pipeline would cross an international border. construction requires a presidential permit and would be subject to applicable State laws and permitting requirements. To issue a presidential permit. the State Department. after consulting with other federal agencies and providing opportunities for public comment. must determine that the project would serve the national interest. Because the Keystone XL project would constitute a major federal action with a potentially significant environmental impact. it is also subject to environmental impact statement requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. NEPA. The bill declares that a presidential permit is not required for approval of the Keystone XL pipelines northern route from the Canadian border through Nebraska even though the project crosses an international border. This is unprecedented. Second. H.R. 3 deems that environmental impact statements issued to date would be considered sufficient to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. and the Interior Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are deemed to have granted all the necessary permits for the pipeline to proceed. including permits under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. As a senior member of the Committee on the Judiciary. I have a problem with "deeming" something done that has not been done in fact. I believe we should determine whether. under the Constitution. this alters the power of the office of the President. Third. the bill vests exclusive jurisdiction regarding legal disputes over the pipeline or the constitutionality of this bill in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and requires claims regarding the pipeline to be brought within 60 days of the action that gives rise to the claim. My amendment would have extended the time to one year. It is unduly burdensome to require aggrieved parties to bear the considerable expense and hardship of traveling from their homes in North or South Dakota. Nebraska. Kansas. Oklahoma. or Texas to Washington. D.C. to vindicate their legal rights. Mr. Chair. I also believe the bill before could have been improved had more amendments been made in order. For example. an amendment I offered jointly with Congressman RUSH. Jackson Lee Amendment No. 4. would have struck Section 4 of the bill and restored the right to full judicial review to aggrieved parties. Another amendment I offered. Jackson Lee Amendment No. 3. would have required the Secretary of Transportation to submit within 90 days of enactment a report to Congress identifying the procedures and policies adopted to ensure that women and minority business enterprises are afforded the opportunity to participate on an equitable basis in the construction and operation of the Keystone Pipeline. Had this amendment been made in order and adopted Congress would have been provided with helpful information needed to conduct appropriate oversight. Another amendment I offered. Jackson Lee amendment No. 2. would have added a nonseverability clause to the bill. which states that: "if any provision or application of the legislation is held to be invalid. the entire act shall be rendered void." This nonseverability clause simply would have made explicit that the component parts of this bill all fit together. in pari materia. so to speak. such that removing any one part would defeat the intended purpose of the bill. My amendment would make very clear the congressional intent that this bill is so delicately crafted. that it is "all or nothing." Each of these provisions would be rendered meaningless if any of the remaining parts is invalidated. This has been a long standing principle of statutory construction. going back at least to 1936. when the Supreme Court stated in Carter v. Carter Coal Co.. 298 U.S. 238. 312 (1936): [T]he presumption is that the Legislature intends an act to be effective as an entirety that is to say. the rule is against the mutilation of a statute. and if any provision be unconstitutional. the presumption is that the remaining provisions fall with it. This presumption becomes conclusive when Congress makes its intention clear. see Carter v. Carter Coal Co.. 298 U.S. at 312. by including a nonseverability clause in the statute. My amendment would have done just that. Had these amendments been made in order and approved. the bill before would be improved markedly. It is my hope that there will be additional opportunities to improve this legislation as it moves forward. The Keystone Pipeline should be built following all the necessary rules and laws that protect the American people. The Acting CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired. Pursuant to the rule. the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 5minute rule. In lieu of the amendments in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure. Energy and Commerce. and Natural Resources. printed in the bill. it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the 5minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 11311. That amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. The text of the amendment in the nature of a substitute is as follows: H.R. 3 Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.