Recently in Washington

Last week the House passed H.R. 5682, to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, by a vote of 252-161. Congressman Simpson supported the bill, which now moves to the Senate for consideration. The House also passed a number of suspension bills, including several pieces of legislation from the Natural Resources Committee to authorize various land conveyances, boundary adjustments, and tribal land exchanges.

Simpson Supports Keystone XL Pipeline
Calls on the White House to Stop Delaying Project

Idaho Congressman Simpson last week supported H.R. 5682, a bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would put an end to years of bureaucratic delays and allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project. 

The Keystone XL pipeline would transport crude oil from the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, to refineries in the United States. Because the pipeline would connect the United States with a foreign country, it requires a Presidential Permit issued by the State Department.  The State Department must find that the project would serve the national interest before it can issue the permit.

The first application to the U.S. State Department to build the pipeline was submitted in 2008, and after a thorough environmental review, in 2011 an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) found that the pipeline would have limited adverse environmental impacts during its construction and operation.  Despite this, President Obama denied the Presidential Permit request in January of 2012, requiring the permitting process to begin anew.  The State Department issued a second Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement in January of 2014, confirming once again that the pipeline would have limited adverse environmental impact.

“Moving forward with the permitting of the Keystone XL pipeline will create jobs and reduce our dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil,” said Simpson. “The President is yet again playing political games with our energy security, and ignoring the benefits of this project without a scientific basis for doing so.”

Canadian pipeline company TransCanada has estimated that it will invest $7 billion in the United States to build the pipeline, and that up to 20,000 jobs would be directly created by the pipeline’s construction.  The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the Keystone XL pipeline would be able to move 830,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents about half of the amount the U.S. imports from the Middle East. 

“This project has broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, and it has been reviewed and studied for six years and found to be environmentally safe,” Simpson said.  “I hope the Senate and the President approve this bill quickly, because the economic and energy security implications for this country are too important to delay any longer.” 

H.R. 5682 authorizes the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline.  The bill deems the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Secretary of State in January of 2014 sufficient to satisfy all the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and any other federal law that requires federal agency consultation or review.

The House passed H.R. 5682 by a vote of 252-161. It will now move to the Senate for further consideration. 

Floor Schedule

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH

On Monday, the House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) H.R. 5441 - To amend the Federal charter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to reflect the service of women in the Armed Forces of the United States (Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Miller / Judiciary Committee)

2) H.R. 3608 - Grand Portage Band Per Capita Adjustment Act (Sponsored by Rep. Rick Nolan / Natural Resources Committee)

3) H.R. 5162 - To amend the Act entitled "An Act to allow a certain parcel of land in Rockingham County, Virginia, to be used for a child care center" to remove the use restriction, and for other purposes (Sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte / Natural Resources Committee)

4) H.R. 4049 - Ashland Breakwater Light Transfer Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy / Natural Resources Committee)

5) H.R. 5040 - Idaho County Shooting Range Land Conveyance Act (Sponsored by Rep. Raul Labrador / Natural Resources Committee)

6) H.R. 5069 - Federal Duck Stamp Act of 2014, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. John Fleming / Natural Resources Committee)

7) H.R. 5468 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1103 USPS Building 1103 in Camp Pendleton, California, as the "Camp Pendleton Medal of Honor Post Office" (Sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

8) H.R. 5331 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 73839 Gorgonio Drive in Twentynine Palms, California, as the "Colonel M.J. 'Mac' Dube, USMC Post Office Building" (Sponsored by Rep. Paul Cook / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

9) H.R. 5386 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 11662 Gravois Road in St. Louis, Missouri, as the "Lt. Daniel P. Riordan Post Office" (Sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

10) S. 1499 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 278 Main Street in Chadron, Nebraska, as the "Sergeant Cory Mracek Memorial Post Office" (Sponsored by Sen. Mike Johanns / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

11) S. 1093 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 130 Caldwell Drive in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, as the "First Lieutenant Alvin Chester Cockrell, Jr. Post Office Building" (Sponsored by Sen. Thad Cochran / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

12) S. 885 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 35 Park Street in Danville, Vermont, as the "Thaddeus Stevens Post Office" (Sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

13) S. 1512 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1335 Jefferson Road in Rochester, New York, as the "Specialist Theodore Matthew Glende Post Office" (Sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

14) H.R. 5142 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 113 West Jackson Street in Rich Square, North Carolina, as the "Chief Joseph E. White, Jr. Post Office Building" (Sponsored by Rep. G.K. Butterfield / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

15) H.R. 5544 - Low-Dose Radiation Research Act of 2014, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Paul Broun / Science, Space, and Technology Committee)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH
On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

H.R. 1422 - EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2013 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Chris Stewart / Science, Space, and Technology Committee)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH
On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

1) H.R. 5681 - To provide for the approval of the Amendment to the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for Cooperation on the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defense Purposes (Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce / Foreign Affairs Committee)

2) H. Res. 754 - Condemning the Government of Iran for its gross human rights violations (Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce / Foreign Affairs Committee)

3) H.R. 3398 - Girls Count Act of 2014, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce / Foreign Affairs Committee)

4) H.R. 5448 - John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act of 2014 (Sponsored by Rep. Lou Barletta / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

H.R. 4012 - Secret Science Reform Act of 2014, Rules Committee Print (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. David Schweikert / Science, Space, and Technology Committee)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH
On Thursday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes expected no later than 3:00 p.m.

H.R. 4795 - Promoting New Manufacturing Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise / Energy and Commerce Committee)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST
On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

In the News

Appropriator Says Omnibus Could Stop Water Rule
By Ellyn Ferguson, CQ Roll Call, November 14, 2014

Mike Simpson, chairman of the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee, is mulling language for an omnibus spending bill that would block implementation of the proposed Waters of the United States rule.

“I think we may get the national waters language because there are Republicans and Democrats who are opposed to what the EPA is doing,” Simpson told CQ Roll Call’s Tamar Hallerman in an interview Thursday.

Simpson may be referring to language in House-passed legislation (HR 5078) by Rep. Steve Southerland II of Florida.  The bill would prohibit the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers from taking any action related to the proposed regulation.

Simpson, R-Idaho, said blocking the rule is among several possible actions appropriators are highlighting to garner support from rank-and-file members for an omnibus spending bill through Sept. 30, 2015. A short or long-term continuing resolution would only address spending, not policies, Simpson said.

“There are a lot of people who in previous years agreed with us but it was not a high priority item because it was a theory about what [epa] was going to do,” Simpson added. “But it was just theory. Now the rule is out and people are fired up about it.”

He said House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers of Kentucky is particularly concerned about the proposal.

The EPA closes the public comment period Friday on the proposed rule. Under the usual process, the agency would review comments and perhaps make adjustments before issuing a final regulation by the spring of 2015.

Opponents say the pending regulation would greatly expand the reach of the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act (PL 95-217).

Outdoors Enthusiasts Back Water Rule. Organizations representing hunters and anglers support EPA and the Corps’ steps to protect wetlands and headwater streams important to fish habitat and clean drinking water for humans.

More than 200 groups sent a letter Thursday to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy commending their efforts. The National Wildlife Federation, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Trout Unlimited were among the signers. The signers’ assessment differs from agriculture groups that argue that farmers, and therefore rural areas, could be financially harmed by the proposed regulation.

“When wetlands are drained and streams are polluted, it imperils America’s hunting and fishing economy — which accounts for over $200 billion in economic activity each year and 1.5 million jobs. These impacts are felt by rural communities in particular,” the organizations argued. “The current rulemaking is our best chance to restore protections for streams, wetlands and other waters critical to our hunting and fishing traditions and outdoor economy.”