Five amendments Dems will propose to Keystone XL bill

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/keystone-pipeline-senate-democrats-113964.html?hp=r2_3

Sen. McConnell has promised to allow amendments for proposed legislation, something that Sens. Schumer and Stabenow have accepted. They'll offer five amendments to the Keystone XL legislation:

It will be very interesting to see how Republicans react to these proposed changes and, if they vote against them, what would be their reason(s) for doing so. Given that Senate Dems have enough votes to sustain an Obama veto, if the prez were to signal he'd sign the bill if most or all of those amendments are included, would Repubs say 'yes' and accept them? My view is that if there is going to be any "compromise" and "getting things done" as Repubs have promised, this bill could be the indicator of how that might work or whether it will work at all.

 

Good moves.....put the GOP on the spot on both "This will help the US" and their "We don't want ferrriners taking over our country" rhetoric.


I just think it's going to be ironic that the first "big move" of the GOP Congress will be to pass a bill for an oil pipeline....

A. that makes Canada rich which creating only temporary work for Americans.

B. shows itself to be irrelevant to oil prices, since they now are collapsing without Keystone even starting to be constructed.

 

The only reason I dont oppose the pipeline is because it seems to me a pipeline woudl be a net gain for the environment. The RW rhetoric about it lowering oil prices and creating jobs and on and on is so easy to see through, well the only reason they belive it is because they want to.

 

The GOP puppets of big oil look like relics and stiffs from Pompeii. They attempt to ignore the fact that clean energy is the wave of the future and the need for this filthy pipeline becomes ever and ever more ridiculous to even consider.

 

I don't believe it would be a net gain for the environment given that it would enable the more rapid development of the tar sands and therefore contribute more greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. Here's an article on that.

 

I believe we need to bailout the People with Infrastructure in proportion to any bailout for any private sector.

 

Interesting, I had not read that. thanks

 

Renewable energy capacity grows at fastest ever pace
Green technologies now produce 22% of world's electricity
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/28/renewable-energy-capacity-grows-fastest-ever-pace

What is that you said about subsidies?

Big Oil Rakes in Added Billions While Taxpayer Subsidies Continue: 2013 Third Quarter Results
http://www.taxpayer.net/library/art...s-while-taxpayer-subsidies-continue-2013-thir

 

How much solar capacity can we put on the space station, to conserve green space and wildlife?

 

What a crock. Do we require U.S.-produced iron, steel and manufactured goods “be used for all forms of green energy construction, connection, operation, and maintenance"? Answer...NO! So why should we "require" it for the pipeline?

If Rep's fall for all the "you must comprise" BS they're fools. They should pass a clean bill, send it to Obama and if he veto's it, so be it. Hell, he'll probably find some reason to veto it anyway, so what's the difference.

 

Applying eminent domain is stupid since it in no way prevents land owner from using their land. For libs that dont understand this-----------THE PIPE IS UNDER GROUND!!!!!!

 

Upgrading infrastructure will give more bang for our buck.

 

I don't recall Dems requiring people to purchase domestic vehicles in their Cash for Clunkers lemon, either.

Say buh-bye to the Democrats' short-lived love affair with "shovel ready" infrastructure projects and clean bills. We barely knew ya...

 

For the information of the east and west coast liberals, you cant farm land that is covered with windmills and solar panels.

And------------- an underground pipe line is many times safer for the enviroment than putting oil on the railroads.

 

I agree with way2convey....

I hope the GOP passes a "clean bill"....which builds the pipeline with the cheapest material available...like from China......employs Americans but only temporarily.....and then, after the Americans are fired, makes Canadians rich....

and then go out and talk about how "patriotic" they are.

 

It may depend on the State. In any case, eminent domain cannot be wrong under our form of Socialism as enumerated in our supreme law of the land, merely for the recourse to and the Use of, Capitalism.

 

Gorn

Too bad union democrat ruined the steel companies in the US. The pipe may not be made with US steel.

 

Shucks - just spell it out so perhaps we will hear the end of subsidies for green energy companies:


From preferential treatment in the tax code to insurance liability caps, the oil industry still enjoys significant taxpayer subsidies. Our Green Scissors 2012 report identifies more than a dozen subsidies for oil and gas companies. Repealing the percentage depletion deduction, which allows independent producers a flat deduction of gross income from each well, would save the federal government $5.3 billion from 2012-2017. Repealing the last-in, first-out method of inventory for oil, natural gas, and coal companies would generate $18.3 billion in revenue for the federal government for the same period. If Congress repealed the deduction for intangible drilling and development costs in the case of oil and natural gas wells it would produce $8.4 billion in added revenue.

 

Just fear mongering on the left.

 

At the moment the thought of lowering prices is probably scaring the bageebees out of the oil industry as a whole. They don't need prices to go any lower at this point. Will their sock puppets in congress still push for the pipeline knowing it will have an effect on oil prices that might not be needed at the moment?

 

Well, except for the even more filthy trains currently transporting the oil.

 

Chuck Schumer Lays Out Democrats' Plans For Keystone Pipeline Legislation

The Huffington Post | By Elise Foley | Posted: 01/04/2015 12:59 pm EST
Excerpts:

"Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)said Sunday that Democrats will try to improve a pending bill that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline, but that even with those improvements, he believes President Barack Obama should veto the legislation.

"These amendments will make it better but certainly not good enough at this point in time," Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "I think there will be enough Democratic votes to sustain the president's veto. We need a much different energy policy."

Republicans in the Senate are expected to quickly take up a bill on the Keystone pipeline after gaining control of the upper chamber this week. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)said in an interview aired Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that Senate Republicans would work to approve the pipeline, which McConnell said "would put a lot of people to work almost immediately."

However, the State Department has said the pipeline would create only 35 permanent jobs after it was constructed, something Schumer brought up in his remarks to CBS.

"Our Republican colleagues say that this is a jobs bill but that really is not true at all. ... And so Democrats are dubious of this, but we're going to introduce amendments to make it more of a jobs bill," he said.

Schumer said there will be amendments saying that steel used in the pipeline must come from the U.S. and that oil from the pipeline should not be exported to other countries. Another amendment, he said, would add more jobs in wind and solar energy. But even with those amendments, Schumer said he believes Democrats would sustain a presidential veto. Obama has not said how he would respond to the legislation.

On "Fox News Sunday," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)was asked whether Republicans have the votes to overturn a potential veto by Obama. Thune noted that the pipeline has some Democratic support.

"It's going to be up to a lot of those Democrats who have expressed support for this in the past as to whether or not now that it really matters - it's more than just a symbolic vote - whether or not they're going to be there," Thune said."

read:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/04/chuck-schumer-keystone-pipeline_n_6413004.html
.......

IMO: To have an extremely detrimental pipeline to be built down the length of our country subjcted to immense pressure to move the thick tar sands oil all the way from Canada to Texas for refining is an immense fools' errand as the oil will be shipped out to foreign countries, there will be 35 permanent jobs, with the Chinese already having all the top jobs in constructing but nothing has been said about the costs of repairing broken pipelines from the pressure of daily forcing the thick muck like oil through the pipes or the severe costs to our water sources, soil, and environment in the event of spills, and the rest of the story is the costs to taxpayers for ongoing future repairs.

Logic tells us that when the Canadians refuse to have the pipeline built in Canada, why are Americans so hot to put our lands, water, soil, and environment at great risk and have to pay for any repairs? Who is getting paid off ?

We will be giving our lands away for a few puny jobs while the big oil guys make a profit for getting the deal done. The pollution impact will be astronomical in terms of trying to clean up our atmosphere once the Canadian filthy oil is being refined in Texas on a daily basis as well as pipes bursting spewing that filthy muddy tar sands oil over our countryside, cities, towns, and pastures.

Is this the filthy legacy that we will be leaving to those that come after us?

 

So a pipeline is more detrimental than a fleet of trucks running the oil...oh the fear mongering from the left is hilarious.

 

Promoting the general welfare of the United States, not mere sectors, private, is what our federal Congress should be doing. We should be getting underground mass transit in goods and services via MagLev capable Infrastructure, with potentially, recourse to vacuum environments to aid in more social, promptness regarding "time to markets" for the private sector. It is what nice public sectors should be good for in modern times.

MOD EDIT - Off Topic