SCR4, As Adopted by Senate, March 18, 2015

 

 

            Senators Proos, Pavlov, Booher, Horn, Nofs, Colbeck, MacGregor, Zorn, Hildenbrand, Green, Schuitmaker, Jones, Schmidt, Kowall, Emmons, Casperson, O'Brien, Brandenburg, Marleau, Meekhof, Robertson and Hansen offered the following concurrent resolution:

            Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4.

            Substitute for Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4.

            A concurrent resolution to urge the U.S. Congress to override the President of the United States’ veto of the Keystone XL pipeline application legislation and to encourage members of the U.S. Congress who did not originally support the legislation to vote in favor of it.

            Whereas, The United States relies—and will continue to rely for many years—on gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as renewable and alternative sources of energy. In order to fuel our economy, the United States will need more oil and natural gas while also requiring additional alternative energy sources; and

            Whereas, The United States accounts for around 20 percent of world energy consumption and is the world’s largest petroleum consumer. The United States consumes more than 18 million barrels of oil each day, and forecasts suggest this will not change for decades. Current crude oil imports amount to about 8 million barrels each day, approximately 45 percent of U.S. requirements. Even with new technology, oil discoveries, alternative fuels, and conservation efforts, the United States will remain dependent on imported energy for decades to come. A secure supply of crude oil is not only needed for Americans to continue to heat their homes, cook their food, and drive their vehicles, but to allow the U.S. economy to thrive and grow free from the potential threats and disruptions of crude oil supply from less secure parts of the world; and

            Whereas, The growing production of conflict-free oil from Canada’s oil sands and the Bakken Formation in Saskatchewan, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota can replace crude imported from countries that do not share American values. However, additional pipeline capacity to refineries in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast is required; and

            Whereas, Increasing energy imports from Canada makes sense for the United States. Canada is a trusted neighbor with a stable democratic government, strong environmental standards—equal to that of the United States—and some of the most stringent human rights and worker protection laws in the world; and

            Whereas, Improvements in production technology have reduced the carbon footprint of Canadian oil sands development by 26 percent on a per-barrel basis since 1990. Oil sands production accounts for 6.9 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 0.1 percent, or one-thousandth, of global GHG emissions. Total emissions from Canada’s oil sands sector was 61 megatons in 2012, equivalent to about 0.9 percent of U.S. GHG emissions. Oil sands crude has similar carbon dioxide emissions to other heavy oils and is 9 percent more carbon-intensive than the average crude refined in the United States on a wells-to-wheels basis; and

            Whereas, The 56 refineries in the Gulf Coast region provide a total refining capacity of approximately 9.2 million barrels per day (bpd), or half of U.S. refining capacity. In 2013, these refineries imported approximately 3.8 million bpd of crude oil from more than 30 countries, with the top three suppliers being Saudi Arabia (25 percent), Mexico (22 percent), and Venezuela (19 percent). Imports from Mexico and Venezuela are declining as production from these countries decreases and supply contracts expire. Once completed, TransCanada’s Keystone XL and Gulf Coast Expansion projects could displace roughly 40 percent of the oil the United States currently imports from the Persian Gulf and Venezuela; and

            Whereas, The Keystone XL pipeline project has been subject to the most thorough public consultation process of any proposed U.S. pipeline and the subject of multiple environmental impact statements and several U.S. Department of State studies. These analyses have concluded that it poses the least impact to the environment and is much safer than other modes of transporting crude oil; and

            Whereas, Pipelines are the safest method for the transportation of petroleum products when compared to other methods of transportation. The Keystone XL pipeline will replace the equivalent of 200 ocean tankers per year. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 19 million tons, or the equivalent of taking almost 4 million cars off the road; and

            Whereas, The original Keystone pipeline, which spans across the northern part of Missouri, supplies over 435,000 bpd of North American crude oil to American refineries in the Midwest. The Keystone XL pipeline will, when completed, have the capacity to carry over 800,000 bpd of North American crude oil to American refineries in the Gulf Coast region which will make its way back to Missouri in the form of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel; and

            Whereas, The Keystone XL project will create approximately 9,000 construction jobs. The Gulf Coast project is a $2.3 billion project that will create approximately 4,000 construction jobs. Combined, they support yet another 7,000 manufacturing jobs. Seventy-five percent of the pipe used to build the Keystone XL application in the United States will come from North American mills, including half made by U.S. workers. Goods for the pipeline, valued at approximately $800 million, have already been sourced from U.S. manufacturers; and

Whereas, The U.S. Congress recently passed legislation, the S.1 Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act, approving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline application. However, the President vetoed the bill on February 24, 2015; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That we urge the U.S. Congress to override the President of the United States’ veto of the Keystone XL pipeline application legislation and encourage members of the U.S. Congress who did not originally support the legislation to vote in favor of it so the necessary two-thirds majority is achieved in each chamber; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to members of the U.S. Congress and the President of the United States.