Rep. Huffman Speaks on Environmental Impact of Keystone XL Pipeline

March 06, 2013

WASHINGTON — Today, Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02) a member of the Safe Climate Caucus, spoke on the House floor about the State Department’s supplemental environmental impact statement on the Keystone XL pipeline. 

Rep. Huffman highlighted how approving the dirty, expensive tar sands pipeline could undo the progress our country has made in its leadership on climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and clean energy job creation. 

“Keystone XL would unlock development of some of the dirtiest, climate-damaging fuel on earth, and it would lock the U.S. into a deeper dependence on dirty and expensive tar sands fuel, which takes this country in the wrong direction for our environment and our economy,” said Rep. Huffman.

The Safe Climate Caucus members have made a commitment to talk every day on the House Floor about the urgent need to address climate change.

Video of Rep. Huffman’s floor speech is available online here.  Full text of the speech is available below:

Floor Statement of Rep. Jared Huffman

Safe Climate Caucus

March 5, 2013

Madam Speaker, last week, in a Friday afternoon announcement designed to bury the news, the State Department released a very troubling supplemental environmental document regarding the Keystone XL pipeline – a project that would undo the progress our country has been making in recent years in showing leadership on climate change, in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and transitioning to a clean energy economy.

Unfortunately, environmental protection seems to be a “foreign” policy to our State Department.  But even this pro-industry report cannot gloss over the fact that Keystone XL would unlock development of some of the dirtiest, climate-damaging fuel on earth, and it would lock the U.S. into a deeper dependence on dirty and expensive tar sands fuel, which takes this country in the wrong direction for our environment and our economy.

Just this morning, in the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral resources, we heard testimony about the enormous potential for wind energy to generate jobs and also cost-effectively improve energy independence.  Other forms of clean energy hold the same promise.

Madam Speaker, it’s time to get serious about climate change and clean energy job creation.  Importing dirty, expensive tar sands fuel is the wrong way to do that. 

 

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