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Sen. Inhofe Statement on the Passage to Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, voted in favor of S.1, legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 62-36. 

“Today I proudly voted in favor of approving the Keystone pipeline and creating thousands of well-paying jobs for Americans,” Inhofe said.  “I urge the House to quickly send this bill to the President’s desk. It is time for the President to put aside rhetoric and seize the opportunity to give his support to over 9.2 million hardworking Americans by making it law to build the remainder of the Keystone pipeline.  When President Obama spoke in Cushing, Okla., on March 22, 2012, about the Keystone pipeline, he acknowledged that America is producing 'so much oil and gas in places like North Dakota and Colorado that we don’t have enough pipeline capacity to transport all of it.' This is just another reason why we need to get Keystone done now, unless the President is trying to suppress domestic production.  I will be disappointed if the President follows through on his veto threat, but my colleagues and I are committed to fight back as the Keystone pipeline is a much-needed step in the right direction for our economy and for America’s energy security.” 

"As the Senate works to return to regular order, the new Republican majority held 42 votes on amendments, far outpacing the 15 amendment votes permitted in all of 2014. Many gains were achieved with the open amendment process that will pave the way forward for the 114th Congress to enact robust energy policies that can rebuild the diminishing middle class and strengthen our national security.”

During the amendment process, Inhofe took the following notable votes:

Whitehouse Amendment #29: On Jan. 21, Inhofe requested to be a co-sponsor of Whitehouse amendment #29 and urged his caucus to vote in favor of the amendment. The text of the legislation read: “Climate change is real and is not a hoax.” Following the vote, Inhofe spoke on the Senate floor about how climate change has occurred since the beginning of time and that we continue to see climate shifts, including a 17-year hiatus in global temperature increases. He also sourced an NERA study which examines the crippling cost of President Obama’s climate regulations verses the minimal impact the regulations would have on the climate’s trend. The amendment passed 98 to 1. To view is statement on the Senate floor regarding his vote, click here

Blunt Amendment #78: On Jan. 22, Inhofe voted for Blunt Amendment #78, an amendment which he cosponsored that expressed a Sense of the Senate that President Obama’s greenhouse gas agreement with China has no force and effect in the United States. The amendment failed by a vote of 51 to 46. Following the vote, Inhofe said in a joint statement: "Members of Congress who voted for this amendment reinforced that the President cannot make an international agreement without the advice and consent of the Senate and cannot impose rules that go beyond the scope of the Clean Air Act.” 

Gillibrand Amendment #48: On Jan. 28, Inhofe voted down Gillibrand Amendment #48, an amendment that would expand the federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing.  The Amendment would surrender the future of natural gas to the federal government by repealing a provision in the 2005 Energy Policy Act that empowers states to oversee the regulation and development of hydraulic fracturing.  This Amendment would also change the Energy Policy Act to impose new federal requirements on natural gas storage at the time when consumers need it the most for home heating. The amendment failed by a vote of 35 to 63. Following the vote, Inhofe said in a statement"The failure to pass Sen. Gillibrand’s (D-NY) Amendment to S.1 is a clear message from the U.S. Senate of broad bipartisan support to keep regulation of hydraulic fracturing in the capable hands of the states and out of the grasp of the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency and their War on Fossil Fuels. "

 

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