2020 Action

GOP Pushes Keystone XL through House

Bill Sponsor Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) with Speaker of the House
John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Canter (R-VA).

House Republicans are trying their darndest to pass TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline, despite President Obama's denial.

The Energy and Commerce Committee voted 33-20 to pass H.R. 3548, the bill that would give authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve the KXL pipeline. The legislation would require the FERC to approve the $7 billion project within 30 days if deemed safe.

Last week, our post about the Living Dead Pipeline explained why the Keystone XL isn't safe, smart, or profitable. The corrosive, toxic bitumen that would flow through the pipeline is a danger to people, drinking water, and Canada's pristine forests and local wildlife.

The Republicans want us to believe that the the pipeline would create jobs, but that is simply false. The project would, indeed, create some jobs -- perhaps a few thousand -- but they would be temporary, lasting only until the pipeline's completion. The project offers virtually no long-term jobs, as the pipeline does not increase capacity in existing refineries.

What's more, the pipeline allows for big oil companies to export the bitumen around the world from the Gulf coast. Since the point of export for this oil would technically be in international waters, the U.S. Treasury will not see a dime in taxes.

So, let's recap - House Republicans want to build a pipeline that would endanger American drinking water, prevent investment in real long-term jobs, and delay a transition to a clean energy economy just so Big Oil companies can export oil from Canada to foreign countries via the U.S., without paying a dime in U.S. taxes?

Clearly, the GOP is far more worried about campaign contributions from Big Oil than they are concerned about American safety and jobs.

Take Action

Tell the GOP they can't make the FERC their Yes-men. Say no to the KXL pipeline.

• Read the bill and contact your representative here:
  http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3548/show


• Write, call, and tweet bill sponsor Representative Lee Terry (R-NE)
  Twitter @LeeTerry2012



• Campaign Headquarters: 2941 South 120th Street Omaha, NE 68144 Mailing Address: PO Box 540098 Omaha, NE 68154 Phone: 402-691-0333 Fax: 402-691-0319 Email: lee@leeterry.com

 

The War isn't Over for Keystone XL

by: The EarthAction Team; Larry O'Connor, Christine Chung, and Alexandra Reissig

Environmental activists won a major victory as President Obama announced in November that construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline will be delayed until after the 2012 elections.  However, this decision only delays the threat - far from rejecting the proposal, the State Department released a statement saying that they will order a review of alternate routes for the pipeline that would avoid the Sands Hill region of Nebraska, home to the largest and most intricate wetland ecosystem in the United States. The debate over the XL pipeline is far from over.

Democracy Now! newscaster, Amy Goodman reported on Tuesday, January 31, that, “Senate Republicans have announced plans to introduce legislation allowing Congress to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, despite President Obama’s rejection of the controversial project. An analysis by the Public Campaign Action Fund and 350.org found that the bill’s 44 co-sponsors have received a combined $22.3 million in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry since 1989. One Democrat has joined the Republican effort: Joe Manchin of West Virginia. TransCanada, the company behind the $7 billion pipeline, spent $1.33 million on lobbying last year.”

In an article posted Monday, January 30th, Brian Merchant, a reporter for TreeHugger.com identified four ways in which the Pipeline could be “lurched back to life”.  The two most dangerous scenarios involve first, that the next payroll tax cut bill could include language that would explicitly state that the pipeline would be approved and second, that Joh Boehner could include a provision for approval into an upcoming infrastructure bill. 

 

July 2010: End Energy Company Give-Aways

Last year it was the taxpayer-financed bank bailout. Now we’re on to the BP Gulf Oil Disaster bailout. While BP must pay for the cleanup itself, according to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, BP is liable for only the first $75 million in civil monetary damages, e.g. loss of income from fishing and tourism. BP may ‘choose’ to pay more, but they are not legally required to.

A similar situation exists for nuclear energy. In case of an accident, the Price-Anderson Act limits the liability of an individual company to $112 million, and of the industry as a whole to $11.6 billion, the rest again being left to victims and taxpayers. How big can the rest be? Well, the Chernobyl damages are estimated at $358 billion!

New legislation is needed to make the energy corporations liable for the entire cost of any civil damages that they cause. This will make the oil and nuclear companies more careful because their own money will be at stake, instead of cutting corners and bypassing regulations as we saw repeatedly in the Gulf disaster. It puts the incentive for responsible decision making in the right place. Ending this public subsidy of the oil and nuclear industries will also make wind, solar and other renewables more competitive.

This Month's Action: Contact President Obama

Urge him to take strong action on energy, as he did to push the health care bill over the line. Ask him to see that the civil liability limits of the oil and nuclear industries are abolished, so the companies themselves, not the taxpayers, pay for their disasters. Point out that this would be basic fairness, that it will increase safety, and that the resulting level playing field will give a huge boost to clean renewable energy.

Contact Information:

Telephone: 202 456-1111 (9:00 am-5:00 pm EDT)
Online: www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Write: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20500