is that going to help lower the price at the pump for americans? i don't think so. and in fact, we are today exporting 422,000 barrels of gasoline a day, 1.3 million barrels of diesel every day, yet truckers are still being pretty well extorted at the pump. ou know, that's 54.6 million gallons of diesel yet our going to take w, we're this tar sand goop and process it in the u.s. and export it. it's not going to help the processors. and then there are minor environmental issues. tar sands do create 81% more greenhouse gas than most other forms of fossil fuel extraction. they are going to destroy

forever, forever, large portions of forests. i'm sure that is a canadian issue. if i lived in canada, they would be protesting. i don't. we don't need to build a pipeline there. they will use precious water resources and create waste pits that will be polluted with the extract, except for the part that which is shipped south to be processed and shipped overseas. so i really don't see this as something we should preempt the laws of the united states. 2.5 million comments. republicans don't care much about the comments. 2.5 million comments that are still being evaluated, raising concerns about various aspects of this project. but here, i will say, bad legislation, good politics, we are trying to help someone get

elected to the senate who is currently a member of the house, the senate is potentially moving ahead with this bill. the house, with very little notice, zidded they would bring up this bill that we have passed in one version or another eight previous times. and use of the house of representatives to promote's candidacy to the united states senate, which i think is a really a disgrace to this institution. with that, i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon reserves. mr. shuster: it's now my pressure to yield two minutes to the subcommittee chairman of railroads and pipelines, mr. denham of california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. denham: this is a bill about jobs and create tens of those of american jobs. long overdue. it will enhance our energy independence and strengthen our national security. however, today, i want to talk

about the safety of this pipeline. as the chairman noted, the trans-canadian has agreed to a number of additional mitigation measures to make the pipeline the safest ever built. these 59 special conditions were recommended by the pipeline and hazardous materials and safety administration and go above and beyond current regulation. several conditions will ensure the high use of steal and welleds, both which will reduce the chance of a pipeline release. the pipeline will include automatic shutoff valves and increase the depth of coverage. it will be buried a foot deeper than the regular layings require. transcanada will provide right-of-way inspections and greater transparency. this includes this important pipeline that will not only create jobs but help us to be

energy interest. these are private sector jobs that will be the safest pipeline ever built. this project has been bipartisan. three committees with bipartisan support. and i urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation at a very important time when we need those american jobs. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from oregon. the gentleman from oregon has 10 minutes remaining. the gentleman from pennsylvania has 11 minutes remaining. mr. defazio: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: i thank my friend from oregon and i rise in opposition to this. we've heard about the nature of this very dirty material that is dug rather than pumped. and the fact that it will go through america, not to america. now, we might ask, on a day when

u.s. oil production was announced to reach a 30-year high of more than nine million barrels, why we would be even considering this. well, it's not because this fits into our energy picture. we will risk oil spills that are a mess to clean up. and we here that oil spills won't occur. the transcanada pipeline, also known as keystone, had 12 separate oil spills in its first year of operation, tens of thousands of gallons and hard to clean up and as you also heard, this doesn't count as petroleum and therefore, they don't pay into the oil spill liket trust fund. so taxpayers are on the hook for this difficult cleanup. the real problem is none of these points, but it is taking

us down the road where we should not be going. this is the most carbon-intensive liquid fuel, if you want to call it liquid, that we could possibly use. it is changing our very climate in ways that are deadly and costly. we shouldn't be going in this direction. it is that simple. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentleman from oge reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma for two minutes. mr. mullin: it is baffleling to me that this debate is still going on. we have to reduce our dependency on oversees -- overseas oil.

yet many play political gamemanship. i have seen what effect it has had on my district. this pipeline would provide high-paying jobs that are well above minimum wage. exactly, the type of jobs this body likes to talk about. yet, despite the economic benefits, this pipeline would provide -- there has been zero action by this president and his administration. so today, i stand in support of h.r. 5682, as a call to this president and the senate, that it's time to approve the keystone pipeline. if they truly want to help the american people, they will join us in moving this legislation forward. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. defazio: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from california.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> we are considering today another bill to force approval of the keystone pipeline outside of the regular order required for all international energy infrastructure projects. this is a very early christmas president from the united states congress to someone specific canadian company. mr. huffman: the vote exempts transcanada from the permitting standards that all american companies are held to. rst yet, they will be exempt from paying into the trust fund. so merry christmas transcanada. and what gift can we expect in return? carbon pollution and heavy crude shipped through our country to export terminals and higher gas prices. t's remember, transcanada is

on-line saying it would increase the price of oil. instead of deliberative process, the g.o.p. majority is rushing to raise gas prices in this country. this christmas present to transcanada is like a lump of coal to u.s. consumers at the pump and a lump of coal for communities who are sure to be impacted by this pipeline when something goes wrong and a huge lump of coal for our climate. we still have another 41 shopping days until christmas. no need for us to play santa for transcanada today. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back. the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: i yield to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. kelly. mr. kelly: this is a jobs bill, not only in the house of representatives but a job bill in the senate.

dr. cassidy's bill is about creating tens of thousands of jobs for hard-working americans. $8 billion private investment that won't cost the american taxpayer one cent. it is about america taking the lead for energy. for six years, this house has passed pieces of legislation that would have created the keystone pipeline. every one of those died in the senate. now, the senate is entertaining this because of one job, tens of thousands of jobs that all these americans who you turned a deaf ear and blind eye to. one job, one senator who has the possibility of losing her seat because of the keystone pipeline. isn't it ironic that we sit here today and try to spin this into something it is not. it is a jobs bill, an american bill that is going to create billions of dollars in revenue.

and i ask my friends on the other side, don't look no further than last tuesday. last tuesday was a referendum on incompetency. open your eyes and ears to the american people and let us create jobs and let us reach the energy independence that we need to succeed in the american economy. it is about one job in the senate or thousands of americans that have been held hostage by an administration that refuses to move forward a jobs bill when they say we have saved jobs, the one job they are trying to save is in the senate. it has nothing to do with policy. it is all politics. thank you, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. defazio: i have no additional speakers. does the gentleman from pennsylvania have additional speakers? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon --

mr. defazio: i have no additional speakers. mr. shuster: i have one additional speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: i yield one minute to the gentleman from louisiana. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it's been more than six years since application was filed in the keystone pipeline. this is my background and this is where i made my living. despite the opposition, the benefits of the pipeline far jout weigh any negative impact. construction will lead to thousands of jobs, well-paying jobs when americans are struggling to find work. reliable source of energy has the potential to reduce gas prices and expand refineries and lessen our dependence on foreign energy sources. the pipeline signifies a secure source of energy for our country if needed.

it is not an economic issue but a security issue as well. thousands of america caps are out of work. i challenge you, mr. speaker, for those who say these are temporary jobs. talk to the men and women who bought cars and houses with these temporary jobs that you ll -- are they temporary legacies or retirements? i thank our congressman for introducing this bill that not only fulfills the requirements but also protects the rights of private property owners should they be affected by the pipeline route. with my past experience, i can say that this project is no different than the thousands of other pipelines we lay each year. it crosses national borders and gives the president to delay it. the president is bhaking political promises when it

should be deemed practical. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. defazio: let's just sum up. we have the most extraordinarily carbon-intensive way of creating diesel and extracting these tar sands. the contributions, believe that greenhouse gases are beneficial or aren't a problem. we have a foreign entity that will be exempt from paying taxes like u.s. entities and through the oil spill liability trust fund and we will be stuck with the bill. we have a foreign entity, granted, they are our friends and neighbors in canada, but foreign, private corporation being given the right of eminent domain over citizens in the state of nebraska. we have, in fact, this company

saying it's likely, if this pipeline is completed that gasoline prices will go up in midwestern areas of the united states and their production will be exported from the united states. so it's not going to be a direct benefit to americans ordeal with energy independence, which we heard earlier. so all in all -- and, of course, we are cutting short the evaluation process that every other energy-producing entity in america has to go through in terms of environmental reviews and of course, we are cutting off any meaningful consideration of the 2.5 million comments that have been received by the state department. but, hey, if it could help a house member be a senate member and get elected to the senate, so, i guess it's a bad bill whose time has come.

with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i would argue this more supplies of oil generally drive prices down, not up. first this pipeline safety is officially moved through this country safely. it's the safest way to move these products. mr. shuster: and there's been numerous additional mitigation measures the state department said would reduce the risk of release. second, the state state department has said this will create 40,000 jobs, over $3 billion in construction contracts and, finally, as i said from sourcing more crude oil from our friendly neighbor to the north, it will reduce our reliance and most likely reduce the cost of energy to the american people. so for these reasons, mr. speaker, i encourage all of our members to support this bill

and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. >> thank you very much. i'd like to make a parliamentary inquiry and ask how much time is alkited to both sides at this -- allocated to both sides at this point. the speaker pro tempore: 15 minutes is allocated to each side. >> thank you very much. mr. speaker, at this time i would like to yield five minutes to the author of this bill, the distinguished dr. bill cassidy of louisiana, a member of the energy and commerce committee, a real leader in trying to bring about energy independence in america and at this time i yield him

five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for five minutes. mr. cassidy: thank you, mr. speaker. it has been over six years since backers of the keystone x.l. pipeline first submitted an application to the u.s. state department on september 19, 2008, to build this energy infrastructure project and bring jobs and greater energy security to america. now, building the keystone x.l. pipeline would create more than 40,000 average annual jobs, over a one to two-year construction period, putting $2 billion into workers and their families' pockets and giving a you much-needed boost -- giving a much-needed boost to the american construction sector. in addition, tens of thousands of jobs would be supported throughout the supply chain. jobs for manufactures that make the steel pipes, the valves, pumps, control and safety devices, required for major pipelines. in addition to my home state of louisiana, manufactures in

georgia, west virginia, throughout the country, would benefit from the construction of this infrastructure project. now, economists have found that the pipeline would create 20,000 manufacturing jobs, an additional 118,000 spinoff jobs, including jobs within the u.s. refinery and petro chemical facilities. this would employ and improve the jobs for americans who right now are struggling. refiners in louisiana and along the gulf coast would benefit from a reliable supply of heavy crude transported through the keystone x.l. pipeline. these petro chemical plants employ families that are right now having the hardest time in this economy, this gives them those better jobs. the final state department review found the pipeline would create over 40,000 jobs without significant environmental impact.

now, note, canada's oil sands are going to be developed with or without this pipeline. the canadian government is already on record stating that oil sands derive from crude oil -- derived from crude oil will be exported to overseas markets like china, it will be shipped on rail and in oil tankers, which may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions versus transportation to the u.s. by pipeline. now, the case for proving the keystone x.l. pipeline is clear and obvious. so why haven't the president approved it? -- hasn't the president approved it? and why up to this point hasn't senator reid allowed a vote on approving keystone x.l.? if there was ever legislation that should not be difficult to get through the senate, it is the keystone x.l. pipeline. by the way, pew research reports that over 60% of americans support it, as do major labor unions, every state along the pipeline's route, and the majority of the house of

representatives on eight separate occasions voting on similar bills in the affirmative. so here we are on the ninth attempt. it has been 539 days, a year and half, since the house first sent a keystone approval bill to the senate in this congress. that legislation could have been considered, amended, passed or completely replaced, yet the bills collected dust on senator reid's desk. the bill considered today that i introduced is the language asked for by the senate. so, we are going to make it as easy as possible for the senate to finally get a bill to the president's desk that approves this long overdue keystone x.l. pipeline. thanks to the transportation and infrastructure committee, the energy and commerce committee, the natural resources committee, the rules committee, and house leadership for working with me to clear a path for this expedited consideration. upon passage of this bill in

the house, it will go to the senate for approval, then to the president where i hope he signs h.r. 5682 into law. i want to thank chairmans upton, whitfield, shuster, sessions and hastings for this work on this important legislation. i particularly want to thank the american people for sending a signal in this last election that they want we in washington, d.c., to work together to accomplish commonsense legislation that will create jobs for families which are struggling now, but because of legislation like this, will have more opportunity and a better future. this is a perfect example of what the american people have asked us to do. i encourage my colleagues to join me in approving the keystone x.l. pipeline, to finally provide 40,000 promised jobs to the american people. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky

reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: today we are voting once again to grant special treatment to transcanada's keystone x.l. pipeline. this is the third time this congress and the eighth time since the republicans took control of the house. instead of helping families deal with pressing problems, we're helping canadian tar sands producers and pipeline builders. we're spending our time trying to exempt a foreign company from the rules that every other company in america has to follow. this bill is not an energy policy. it is about a single pipeline that will allow canadian tar sands to flow across our country for export to other

countries. that's oil going through the united states but not to the united states. we don't need this oil. we have our own sources of oil. and we are using less oil because of our efficiency in new cars getting better mileage. this bill will not lower gasoline prices by a single penny. it may even raise them in some places. and it will at most create just a few dozen permanent jobs. there will be some temporary jobs for construction, once they're gone, they're gone. this bill is a regulatory earmark. it will waive applicable environmental review requirements and risk our farmlands and our water supplies. in fact, it even exempts the keystone pipeline from paying

into the oil spill fund that other oil companies have to contribute to. that means if there's a problem with that pipeline, well, there's no payment by keystone x.l. to that fund to make those who are hurt whole. that means that if there's a spill there won't be the money to clean it up. the keystone x.l. tar sands pipeline is a terrible deal for america. we get all the risks while the oil companies reap the rewards. but even if you support it, this bill is a harmful and unnecessary piece of legislation. the state department is carrying out their review of this highly controversial project. they've got millions of comments and the federal agencies are reviewing these comments. h.r. 5682 would approve the

pipeline by fiat, lock out the public, eliminate the president's authority to balance competing interests, and stop federal agencies from ensuring that if the project does go forward we do it as safely as possible. forget about those comments. we'll just pass a bill and make it happen, rather than consider all the other issues that would be appropriate to look at in approving or disproving this pipeline. i oppose this legislation for all of these reasons. there is one more important reason why i oppose the bill. the tar sands pipeline will worsen climate change. keystone x.l. would create a dependence on tar sands crude, reversing the carbon pollution reductions we've been working so hard to accomplish. according to some experts,

building the keystone x.l. pipeline will triple production of the tar sands and that's totally inconsistent with any future scenario for avoiding catastrophic climate. just this week the united states and china agreed to mutual pledges to fight climate change. and i commend president obama and president xi for that accomplishment. this is a really important development. for the last two decades, antagonisms between the united states and china has stimied efforts to reach a global climate agreement. those days we hope are finally over. the u.s. and china are now both pledging strong joint action. the world has been waiting decades for the u.s. and china to reach an understanding on climate. now that moment has finally arrived. and yet instead of working on a

real energy policy, one that would move us toward a new, low-carbon energy future, instead of working on a clean energy future that would create lots of new jobs, real jobs, permanent jobs, and keep pace with china's clean energy investments, instead of trying to protect our irreplaceable environment and our drinking water supplies, republicans have set their sights on passing a special law for a special interest. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the distinguished majority whip, a member of the energy and commerce committee and a strong leader for energy independence for america, mr. scalise. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for three minutes. mr. scalise: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank chairman whitfield for yielding.

especially i want to thank my colleague from louisiana, congressman cassidy, for the leadership that he had in fighting hard to get this bill brought to the floor. so we can finally get the keystone pipeline built. if you look at this issue, this is all about jobs and it's all about american energy security, mr. speaker. what is the keystone pipeline mean for america? according to the obama administration, 40,000 jobs will be created here in america, good jobs that our economy needs. in fact, this is not a partisan issue, this is a very bipartisan issue. republicans and democrats alike have come together and said, build the keystone pipeline. even though labor unions have said, build the keystone pipeline, unfortunately just a small group of radical environmental extremists have held this project hostage and president obama's hidden behind studies to say, don't do it. so now congress can come together in a bipartisan way and say, let's get this thing

done. let's actually work with canada, who's a friend, mr. speaker, and bring almost a million barrels a day of oil from canada that will no longer need to get from countries who -- that we'll no longer need to get from countries who don't like us. this isn't about a million new barrels coming into america. it's deciding who we're going to do business with. when we trade with canada, we get 80 cents on the dollar back. when we send billions of dollars to middle eastern countries, sometimes that money's used against us, against our troops. and we get less than 50 cents on the dollar back. everything about this says do it, says yes, stop saying no to american jobs, stop saying no to american energy security. this is an issue that brings people together and there was a message that the american people sent last week. they don't want a go-alone president. they want a washington that can work for them. this is a classic example of how republicans and democrats can come together and say yes to a project that creates good jobs for our country and

creates american energy security for our nation. let the united states agree with canada to cross the border and they have to get the permits from each state and all the great jobs that would come from that pipeline and the billions of dollars of private investment. the time for study is over and time for action and time to say yes to the keystone pipeline. i urge approval from my colleagues and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana yields back. the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: everybody in louisiana is clearly for it. the senator from louisiana has been a strong supporter of it

and the would-be replacement senator is for it. the republican whip from louisiana is strongly for it. the oil companies are strongly for it. but to say that those who oppose it are radical environmental extremists seems to me is quite a stretch. there are a lot of responsible people against this legislation, even those who support the pipeline, because they would argue this is not the way to make a decision. put a bill on the floor to ignore all the comments, all the evaluations, all the considerations. the people in nebraska are not going to be happy about that. maybe in louisiana, they will be. but other places would like to know that pipelines are safe and their drinking water is not going to be jeopardize. i yield to the distinguished

member of our committee, who is he ranking member of the subcommittee, mr. rush. mr. rush: i want to begin by thanking the ranking member of the full committee, mr. waxman, for his outstanding leadership on this and other matters that have come before the energy and commerce committee. i want to say to him that his leadership has been inspiring on so many issues. mr. speaker, i strongly disagree with the process that the majority side has undertaken in -- to hace tillly h.r. this bill to the floor. the keystone pipeline is not key to america's energy future.

and we just disregard the merits or lack thereof, of the keystone pipeline itself. the majority just recently as this past couple of weeks made promises to the american people that they will return to regular order and bring bills to the floor of this congress. and mr. speaker, here we are, once again, promises made, promises broken. this bill was brought to this hour fter one hour, one of debate and without the ability for the minority side to bring forth any amendments, not one amendment can we bring to

this bill. where is the promise of bipartisanship on the other side of this particular matter regarding this bill? promises made to the american people equals promises broken by the majority. mr. speaker, this bill would automatically approve the keystone xl pipeline even though this pipeline has no legal route through the state of nebraska, where there's a case pending in the courts before a local judge regarding some of the issues that surrounds this illegal pipeline. why can't the people of nebraska , the citizens of nebraska have

the time and the consideration just to make sure that this and ine is safe for them their drinking water and their environment. there are other states that this pipeline is going to be traveling through. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. rush: could i have one more minute? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. mr. rush: there is an independent process taking place and this bill should shortcut the approval process. and would allow -- this bill would allow a foreign company to seize property from the american people, particularly those who are in nebraska. additionally, this bill seeks to

usurp the president's ability and authority to ultimately approve or reject the project as instead use this pipeline a political football to score some elective advantages. broughtker, eight times this bill or a version of the bill to the floor. don't we get it? eight is enough. enough. "eight is enough." . i yield back. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: i recognize a mber of the energy of -- and olson. commerce, mr.

mr. olson: mr. speaker, this week, the house will pass a bill to complete the keystone pipeline system. he first pipeline in the system, known only as keystone. at pipeline has been sending 600,000 barrels a day from canada to illinois. it has been four years and counting. and the water in nebraska is still clean. the second pipeline this system is called the keystone xl. it sends the same oil into merica as keystone does, but

slightly longer and different route. it has been approved twice. secretary kerry has approved it once. and yet, the politician in chief has threatened to veto the keystone xl pipeline. anada will export their oil. or it goes to china. president obama has on simple choice, oil for america or oil for china. oil for america or oil for china.

please join congress in choosing america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: may i inquire how much time we have on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has 4 1/2 remaining and the gentleman from kentucky has 5 1/2 remaining. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from kentucky reserves. mr. whitfield: i would like to yield to the distinguished the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fits pat rick -- fitzpatrick, two minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: i have come to the floor in support of the keystone pipeline project asking for the senate and the white house to put politics aside in favor of this critical project. with bipartisan support, the house has passed eight separate pieces of legislation to clear

the way for approval of the most studied pipeline in american history. each time these measures were blocked in the senate and condemned by a president crippled by indecision that would put tens of thousands of americans to work. i rise in support of the keystone pipeline, joining my parties, which would certify the secretary of state's final environmental impact statement from a year ago and put our country on independence. while the house has taken definitive action to advance this critical goal, the senate has waited until only politically advantageous to do so even though it ep joyce majority support. while i'm pleased about the benefits of this commonsense project which will grow our economy and strengthen our

national security, it is a shame that it took election-year politics and not the best interests. this pipeline is a vital piece of a plan that creates yobs and more opportunity and i encourage the senate and president to deliver on the promise of embracing an all of the above strategy that works for the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: i recognize the entlelady from illinois, two minutes. ms. schakowsky: there are three umbers that we ought to know about. the grees celsius before earth becomes catastrophic. of igatons the amount

carbon dioxide that can be emitted before we reach rreversible global warmings. the alberta tar sands and nearly half the carbon the world can burn. keystone xl is the fastest and perhaps the only way to fully develop the alberta tar sands. it would move one million important day of the dirtiest oil. it would pass through our nation's most important land and water sources, including one that supplies 0% of the united states drinking water. and those who claim there is no serious risk of a spill have short memory. there were 12 spills in the first year of its operation and

30 spills in just over four years. so what i'm saying today is that this is dangerous and not the best way to create jobs. three jobs are created for every dollar invested in renewable energies over the pipeline and so if we want jobs, if we want clean energy and a good environment, we should vote down this legislation. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from illinois yields back. the gentleman from cal reserves. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. whitfield: i think i have the right to close. so if they would like to proceed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from missouri, mr. cleaver. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cleaver: thank you, member.

look, this legislation is very likely going to be approved. and that's sad for a number of reasons. let me just declare here what i declare in my districts. i believe in earmarks because i think it is constitutional. i think it is almost politically obscene to give what the constitution says is our responsibility to the white house, no matter who's there. and so that's why i have some serious concerns about this special interest earmark that will make the u.s.a. permanent conduit to international markets for one of the dirtiest fuel sources on the planet. is is an earmark for transcanada and maybe the worst abuse in this legislation is that it exempts transcanada from all federal permitting

requirements and other federal environmental laws. other u.s. companies will have to abide by-laws that we will exempt for transcanada and exempts them from paying into the oil spill liket fund which helps the government respond to il spills. this company has already had major oil spills, we will have oil spills. what we're saying when we approve this legislation are these things. one, we're going to give an earmark to a transcanada. it's ok to give an earmark, a special interest earmark, we just can't do it in the united states. number, two we're saying that this transcanada will have the ability to bypass environmental laws that americans cannot bypass. and then number three, we're saying that this company does not have to pay one penny into the oil spill liability trust fund, which means that the people who are watching this

debate tonight will pay when an oil spill occurs. and i think that is obscene. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california reserves. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i think the gentleman on the other side of the aisle has the right to close. if he's ready to close, we're ready to yield back our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time? the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. wit wit -- mr. waxman: you're ready to close? mr. whitfield: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: may i ask how many minutes i have available? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky has four minutes remaining. mr. whitfield: in conclusion on this important debate, i would like to, first of all, thank mr. waxman of california for the many contributions that he has made while a member of the house of representatives. i've had the opportunity to serve with him on the energy and commerce committee for many

years. he has very strong beliefs. he's committed and i just want to wish him the very best in his future endeavors. i know he won't be retiring. he'll be very active in some worthwhile cause and i just want to tell him how much we admire and respect the work that he did, although i personally didn't agree philosophically with some of it, as i'm sure you did not agree with many of mine. but do i wish you the very best, mr. waxman, as you move forward. in conclusion i would like to say, this is not a new piece of legislation. it has passed the house of representatives on eight separate occasions. and we really did not plan to bring it up in this lame duck session, except that senator reid, the leader of the senate, the democratic leader of the senate, changed his mind and decided to bring it up on the senate side. so when we found out about that , mr. cassidy introduced this

legislation which mirrors the bill on the senate side. and we're thrilled that we have an opportunity to pass this legislation. and i expect that we will pass it. i might add that it has been studied for over six years. there have been four complete environmental studies completed. the secretary of state's office on more than one occasion, two occasions, three occasions has said it would have negligentble environmental impact -- negligible environmental impact. in one case they said it would be better off to build this pipeline than not to build it because the environmental degree of moving it by pipeline would be better than the alternative, which is being moved -- in which it is being moved today. so i think it is a win-win-win situation for america. many people have said, well,

they're simply bringing this oil through the united states and then it's going to be exported. we've had many hearings. some of it will be exported. but some of it will be refined right here in the u.s. it will be 850,000 barrels of oil a day, which is about half of what we're importing from the middle east. it will make us less dependent, some labor unions support this legislation. the governor of nebraska supports this legislation. so i think it's a win-win-win for everyone. there are additional safety requirements on this pipeline that are not required on other pipelines. so i think there's going to be adequate safeguards. it's been -- we've held so many hearings on this, so i would urge the body, the house of representatives, to pass this legislation and give us the opportunity to send it down to the white house for the president's consideration and

with that i'd yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky yields back the balance of his time. all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 748, the previous question is ordered on the bill. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to approve the keystone x.l. pipeline. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? mrs. capps: mr. speaker, i have a motion to recommit at the desk. i am opposed to the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman qualifies. the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mrs. capps of california moves to recommit the bill, h.r. 5682. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does -- mr. whitfield: i reserve a point of order against this motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the point of order is reserved. the clerk will read. the clerk: mrs. capps of california moves to recommit the bill, h.r. 5682, to the committee on transportation and infrastructure, with instructions to report the same back to the house with the following amendment. at the end of the bill, add the

following, section 2, requirement that transcanada keystone pipeline pay for any oil spill cleanup on american soil. and the approval process authorized under this act, transcanada keystone pipeline should certify to the president that diluted materials derived from the tar sands and oil sands that are transported through the keystone x.l. pipeline be treated as crude oil and for the purposes of determining contributions that fund the oil spill liability trust fund. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california is recognized for five minutes in support of her motion. mrs. capps: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to offer the final and only amendment to this bill. passage of this amendment will not prevent the pass and of the underlying bill -- passage of the underlying bill. my amendment would simply be incorporated into the bill and the bill will be immediately voted upon. mr. speaker, it's no secret that we're still primarily

dependent on oil and other fossil fuels for our energy needs. this dependence does have the affect of polluting our planet, of harming public health and of threatening our national security. recent advances in clean, renewable energy technologies have demonstrated that it doesn't have to be this way. but rather than pursuing the sustainable energy future we know we need, this and the keystone x.l. pipeline double down on fossil fuels and push us further down this destructive path. no matter if you support or oppose keystone x.l., we can all agree that drilling and transporting oil has serious risks. it only takes one small crack, one small mistake to cause a major oil spill. and catastrophic, irreparable harm to the surrounding communities. in 1969, my home district experienced one of the worst oil spills in u.s. history. i saw firsthand the devastating

damage to our local economy, to human health, property and natural resources. and we've seen this happen far too many times since then in communities around the country. the deep water horizon disaster cost 11 lives, billions of dollars in economic damages and untold devastation to the delicate ecosystem of the gulf. and that very same year we saw a terrible spill in michigan. this bill was particularly noteworthy because it involved tar sanledses oil. which is the same type of oil that would flow through the keystone pipeline. tar sands is much harder to clean up than standard crude, which is one of the reasons that spill took nearly $1 billion and several years to fully clean up. mr. speaker, history has shown us that there's simply no such thing as a spill-proof well or pipeline. accidents do happen. in fact, accidents have already happened 14 times on the existing keystone pipeline.

despite numerous assurances that keystone x.l. will be safer and spill risks will be minimal, safer simply does not equate safe. and that's why we have oil spill liability trust fund, which is funded by an eight cents per barrel excise on crude oil and petroleum products. this fund ensures that the oil companies that create these messes also pay to clean them up. but transcanada is currently exefment from -- exempt from contributing to the fund for keystone because tar sands oil is not considered crude oil for the purposes of the program. if keystone x.l. is approved, the pipeline's tar sands oil will literally get a free ride through the united states. and if there's a spill, taxpayers and local communities, not those responsible, could be stuck with the cleanup bill. this makes no -- with the cleanup bill. this makes no sense. transcanada and all tar sands oil companies should have to pay into the oil spill

liability trust fund just like every other oil company. and that's why i'm offering this very straightforward amendment. my amendment would simply require transcanada's -- transcanada to certify it will pay the same per barrel fee for its tar sands oil as it does for its regular crude it. would ensure that trans-- crude. it would ensure that transcanada would pay to clean up its own mess in the event of a spill. mr. speaker, if we as a nation -- and these are our natural resources as taxpayers -- if we as a nation are going to bear 100% of the spill risk, the least we can do is to ensure that those responsible pay to clean it up. this is a commonsense idea that should have bipartisan support. so i urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment, to protect american taxpayers and ensure that oil companies pay what is only their fair share and i yield back the balance of

my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. whitfield: mr. speaker, i'd like to withdraw my point of order and claim the time in opposition to the gentlelady's motion. the speaker pro tempore: the reservation is withdrawn. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for five minutes. mr. whitfield: thank you very much. i would like to remind the gentlelady that president obama through a regulation decided hat it's not crude oil for the purposes of the trust fund tax. so the problem was created by president obama and the i.r.s. we are in the process of trying to address that issue and it's under the jurisdiction of the ways and means committee and their tax reform package, that is an issue that they're looking at. but if we try to change that now, and this bill, we would be treating transcanada differently than all other pipelines are being treated, bringing it into the united

states. i would also point out that this pipeline's greater safety characteristics, it has more safety characteristics than any other pipeline built, and we would think you'd want to incentivize its use and not punish it with further taxation. so, in my opinion, while i have great respect for the gentlelady from california, this is simply a ruse to kill the bill and i would respectfully ask our members to oppose this motion to recommit, pass h.r. 5682 and, the senate has said, since senator reid has said they'll take it up in the senate, that's precisely what weebd like to see. urge the defeat of the motion to recommit and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky yields back his time. without objection, the previous question is ordered on the

motion to recommit. pursuant to clause 1-c of rule 19, further crucial of h.r. 5682 is postponed. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute peeches. for what purpose does the gentlelady from district of columbia seek recognition? mrs. christensen: address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. christensen: thank you to the two democrats represent -- ms. norton: thank you to the two democrats and republican representative rohrabacher back who are stood with the district of columbia for letting our marijuana reform bill stand today. although blacks and whites smoke pot at the same rates, the great majority of those convicted of possession of small amounts in the district of columbia and nationwide are black.

your state may not be counted among the 58% of americans who want cannabis legalized. d.c. doesn't ask to you support marijuana. d.c. asks only that the congress respect our local marijuana initiative which is every bit as much a local control matter as the decision made by four other states on this very same issue. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the entlelady yields back. requests for one-minute speeches? for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio seek recognition? the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. kaptur: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise on veterans day week to pay tribute to our dear friend

and longtime former colleague, congressman lane evans. an hon robble man and vietnam veteran, he was elected in 1982, signed in january, 1983, a member of a large freshman class that comprised the 98th congress he hailed from a working class district and was a son of the working class system of few members are grounded in that heritage. he was intelligent, commit -- committed, a true gentleman and a patriot. the economy and social benefit programs consumed the attention of that congress and very high unemployment levels hung over our nation, mired in the aftermath of a deep recession following the first ashe oil embargo and policies of the reagan administration that did not relieve the dire circumstances of unemployed workers. extending unemployment benefits occupied that congress as a lifeline to millions of workers who saw their lifelines

disappear instantaneously. congress passed a measure to ensewer the system would be sound for years to come. he was a yes vote on that historic measure. during the first decade of lane's service, we served on the veterans committee and after an extended fight -- may i ask, mr. speaker, an additional unanimous consent for one additional minute to complete my tribute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady may finish her remarks. ms. kaptur: thank you very much, i thank my colleagues. after an extended fight, egislation was passed to allow agent orange-affected vietnam veterans to receive help. lane's legacy lives on. during his distinguished career, mr. evans led the fight for rhett rans returning home with ptsd. his efforts in congress laid the groundwork far new chapter in

the way america cares for those suffers from mental illness and stress-related conditions of battle. mr. evans was taken from us far too soon. he was only 63 when he passed away last week after a long, courageous, and difficult battle with parkinson's. he will be dearly missed. always true to the marine corps motto, he was always faithful. may god bless him. may he be elevated to a very high position in heaven. i feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to serve with him as a member of the 98th congress and those that followed. thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my colleagues. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from illinois, mr. shimkus is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate my colleague from ohio mentioning lane evans.

the point of this time is to recognize two of our colleagues who have -- who have passed. ewent -- we want to remember them and appreciate -- and i appreciate marcy for those kind words about lane evans. the -- and i'm going to manage this hour so with respect to my colleagues who are down here now, i'd like to first recognize congressman hultgren for five minutes. mr. hultgren: i want to thank my good friend, congressman shimkus, for this time and for this important time to honor these wonderful colleagues. before i get started, i want to ask leave to enter into the record an article titled philip m. crain, teacher, lecturer, author, congressman and friend, written by ed fulmer, former novet heritage foundation. mr. speaker, i rise to pay tribute and respect to former congressman phil crain who we lost this week. s a fellow committed

representative, i respect mr. crain he represented a large position of what is now my district. when illinois was redistricted following the 1990 census, he was willing to to give the mchenry county portion of his district to the new district in order to represent the -- present the republican nominee with a better chance of recapturing the district for the g.o.p. as he did this arguably to the detriment of his own re-election prospects down the road. 20 years later, most of mchenry county is in the fourth and i'm proud to represent his former constituents who were stalwart supporters of his. when he left office in 2004, he was at the time the longest serving house republican. in his book, the sum of good -- "the sum of good government," he wrote, once people are willing to admit the possibility of

alternative the battle is more than half won and the time for refinements of a conservative reform platform will be at hand. phil pursued that platform as a leader of the conservative movement in and outside of congress he served as chairman of the american conservative union a prominent think tank and advocacy organization. in 1973, he founded the pre-eminent conservative organization in the house, the republican study committee, of which i'm a proud member. today the r.s.c. is the largest member organization of the house republicans and drives much of the conservative agenda congressman crain spent most of his career pursuing that agenda on the ways and means committee. there he championed many of the ideas -- ideals i and many of our shared constituents subscribe to. these include lowering taxes on everyone, simplifying the tax code so that it is fair and transparent. defending free market economics and promoting free trade with other nations.

his work propeled him to become the ranking member and eventually chairman of the ways and means trade subcommittee. while there, he led the effort to pass numerous free trade agreements including the north american free trade agreement which opened up economic opportunities with our northern and southern neighbors. he also was very active in efforts to reduce or limit government spending and authored and supported hundreds of bills and amendments to bring overspending under control. in addition, phil had a passion for and deep knowledge of american history. citing historical events in the constitution to make one's case during floor debate and public speeches is not a recent phenomena. he did this recently when fighting for his principles and policies. every day he looked for opportunities to demonstrate his love for robust discussions on conservative ideals. but he didn't let his firm positions on issues drive a wedge between him and other members of congress. he built relationships with those with whom he disagreened

and was well liked on both sides of the aisle. handwriting letters to colleagues, especially thoughtful notes to those going through tough times or who had lost a relative or loved one. most importantly he, wrote letters to and spent time with his constituents. to him, they were his most important relationship. they were his boss, as they are to all who are privileged to enter congress on their behalf. every day i strive to represent my district with the same commitment and dedication as congressman phil crain did. and to stand up for the principle that make this country great. i yield back to my good friend, congressman shimkus. mr. shimkus: i thank my colleague. it's great that you took the time out, a lot of our colleagues are meaning to come down, or caught in time. i want to make sure to give my colleagues a full opportunity to insert in the record, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the

subject of my special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shimkus: as i said, we want to recognize two colleagues, those who i served with, congressman hultgren mentioned phil crain. congresswoman kaptur mentioned lane evans. both colleagues of mine that i was able, fortunate to serve with both. i'm going to talk about both of those at this time. lane was born in rock island, illinois, on august 4, 1951. at which time he joined the marines at the age of 17 and he had orders for vietnam. but he served in okinawa, japan as a security guard buzz his older brother was already deployed in the war. in 1982, lane was first elected from his western illinois district and served for an additional 12 terms. he worked for more than a decade

after his par coinson -- parkinson's diagnosis but announced in 2006 he wouldn't seek re-election because of his deteriorating health. as a congressman he fought for the rights of veterans and became the senior democrat on the house veterans affair committees he pushed legislation to help those exposed to agent orange and to give former service members rights to judicial review in pursuing their benefits. he also campaigned for veterans grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other health problems. as i none know lane, he was very adamant and focused on serving the veterans. he also was one of the first to start talking about the concerns of veterans in finding jobs after their service. president obama credited lane evans with aiding his own political rise, saying once that he wouldn't have made it to the u.s. senate without early

support from his fellow illinoisan. lane is survived by his three brothers. lane and i bordered each other in our congressional districts and we split the community of adams county and really a little bit of town called quincy. when you share congressional borderlines with a colleague, you do numerous events together. when they're of different parties, they're even more important. there's so many things that unite us, a lot of times there's a view that we're always, there's always division here. but back home when we're working on issues like infrastructure, roads, bridges, veterans' benefits, it really is a chance for the public to see members working together. so i relish my time meeting and

serving with congressman evans as we shared a congressional boundary a line and he gave his all to his country he, gave his all to this country through his service as a member of congress and he fought a very tough fight against parkinson's. one that really did -- he would still be here today had he not had really this debilitating disease that really forced him to leave public service. i remember lane well and i wish god's blessings to his family. we also want to take this time to remember congressman phil crain. congressman crain was born in chicago, illinois, on november 3, 1930. re-- he receive his undergraduate degree from hillsdale college in 1952 and earned a nachede history from

indiana university in 1963. he also served in the united states army from 1954 to 1956. in 1969, phil crain won a special election race triggered by the appointment of then-illinoisan congressman donald rumsfeld to the nixon administration. he served in that seat from 1969 until his defeat in 2004. in the 1970's, congressman crain was instrumental in founding as was mentioned by my colleague, congressman hultgren, the republican study committee, the heritage foundation, and the american conservative union. hallmarks of the view of conservatism and who lead the debate in in conservatism in this country. i reached out to a friend of mine this afternoon, don and wanda waiter who reside in

highland, illinois, to -- because they were very close to congressman crain. and i'd like to read from some remembrances that were put down on my behalf to submit for the record. we met phil in 1964 when my father arranged for barry goldwater jr. and phil to speak at the highland high school auditorium concerning the presidential campaign of barry goldwater sr. phil and barry jr. delivered excellent speeches my father, wanda, and i were amazed at phil's intellect and the fact that he spoke eloquently, including detailed budget numbers in a cogent economic theory all without notes. and let me interject here for those of us who served with phil, that was true then and that was true when he served here in washington. at that time, phil was a professor of history at bradley university. 1966 i transfered from the

university of illinois to bradley at my father's suggestion to enable attending phil's classes and those of professor mick las naradi and former minister of hungary prior to and during world war ii. the first of phil's classes i attended was a lecture steer reece with about 300 students. phil typically arrives in the auditorium about five minutes after his aides imposed order on the students. his -- he entered impressively at a brisk pace and with the chicago tribune and other papers under his arm. placing the pain thornse podium he, greeted the class and began a wonderful lecture citing facts dates, humorous anecdotes with no reference to notes. his most memorable lectures were those on the spanish american war and colonel theodore roosevelt. his lecture on t.r. was so memorable that i could recite most of it today. t.r. commandeering two leaky boat tots transport the rough

riders to cuba, t.r. being down to the last pair of glasses at the last charge. the lever action rifle beings outranged by the spanish guns. and a young second lieutenant recently graduated from west point, leading a platoon equipped with gatling guns. donald rumsfeld was appointed by president nixon to headed the office of economic opportunity and phil decided to run the -- for the congressional seat vacated, the 13th illinois district. . i spent a good deal of my time attempting to be of some service to phil and his campaign. he referred to his philosophy as conservatism. an approach i thought daring at the time. he attended many t's, thought the district and was -- throughout the district and was always received, especially by the lady voters who were the primary attendees. in subsequent campaigns, i had the privilege of flying phil around illinois. phil frequently introduced me

generously as his best student and a bradley assume consume laudy. i recall him sitting next to me in a single engine sesna on a trip to springfield when i asked him what he intended to say to the group of voters there. phil commented, i have no idea. i will have to think fast. on another occasion i asked him if this exceptional speaking skill came to him naturaly. he said, no, i developed them by forcing myself to speak public aturn the could be webs in my brain to high voltage electrical cables. phil was not only exceptionally mentaly, hunting rabbits and quail with my father and me, he demonstrated a considerable skill with a shotgun. in 1980 he ran in the primaries against ronald reagan, john connolly and others. phil campaigned on an intellectual plane. he was only the -- obviously the most capable and sincere candidate. had phil been elected, he would have made his best efforts to move the country to smaller government, greater personal liberties and a more nearly

free market economy. phil enjoyed the new hampshire debates and commented that reagan was well received primarily as a result of his old b movie lines he used. during president reagan's second term, i commented to phil that the president had not actually made any real progress in reducing the size of government and establishing a free market economy. he invited my father and 11 other people to meet about twice monthly in washington. and -- to advise him. my father was in hospital prior to an early meeting of this group and phil asked me to attend. therefore the group asked me to be the 13th member of the group. phil's campaign accountant left the campaign. he could not find the financial records. his political advisor had not had a bad day. he also left the campaign. his lead staff person left the campaign and joined the reagan campaign. later to receive an appointment under the reagan administration. phil wound down the campaign and stumped for reagan. a few months later he commented to me, i have not had a bad day since the campaign ended.

in 1987 he told me that president reagan always treated him courteously. but seldom sought his input. he believed that the first lady was adverse to him because he sought the nomination in 1980. phil and barry goldwater jr. delivered eulogies at the funeral of my father and mother in 1987 and 2005. both recalled many years of happy times and were most touching. you know better than i phil's legislative contributions, two major successes in which he played a significant part were the bill that legalized ownership of gold by private citizens and the freedom of information legislation. phil was an inspiration to his students, his constituents and many advocates of personal liberty heard his work. his passing represents an irreplaceable loss of knowledge, capability and spirit to our society and all who pursue the idea of liberty. i couldn't put into words any better than what my good friend

, don and wanda waiter, did in a short time in doing a remembrance of someone they knew very well. i know i have other colleagues coming down to make sure they make their voices heard. i was fortunate to serve with phil. i was fortunate to go sit in his office in the cannon building around with colleagues talking about public policy, the issues of the day. there would be times that i fondly remember. withers -- with, that mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, will control the remainder of the hour. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. and it's great to follow my colleague. but we have some other colleagues here tonight that i want to make sure that they get an opportunity to talk about their experience with the two members that were here -- we're here to honor tonight. congressman phil crane and

congressman lane evans. and for that reason i'd like to recognize my colleague from the great state of georgia for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. woodall: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate my colleague from illinois yielding to me. if phil crane were sitting here in the front row tonight, he wouldn't have any idea who i am. but when you do great things, ou don't ever know who those efforts, who those -- that toiling, that sweating, that genuine effort that goes into what you do, you never know who that's going to affect. and it was -- you've heard it here tonight, it was 1973, folks were talking about how it is that we could bring conservatism to the united states congress. it's phil crane, and be the republican study committee is born. at that time they thought the republican leadership was a little too liberal in the house. they thought we kneed another

voice to balance that leadership out. imagine that. that -- the audacity that a young congressman, he's been on the hill four years at that time, won a special election in 1969, the audacity that phil crane had as a young congressman was to say, maybe we need some balance. in the discussion. maybe we need a place to debate. now, that's 1973. fast forward, it's 2014. if you go and visit with colleagues today who are members of that republican study committee that has survived and grown under phil crane's leadership and others, they'll tell you that when it comes to healthy debate, that may be the single best location in the entire united states house of representatives. i want you to think about that. again, if phil crane were sitting here in the front row, he would not remember the times that we have met because i was a minor blip on his radar. become he dreamed has

the single largest and most productive forum for the discussion of ideas that exists in the people's house in the united states of america. i always wonder about the dreams that we don't hear about. those dreams that had they materialized would have affected dozens of lives, hundreds of lives, thousands of lifes. but because -- lives. but because the dreamer did not press on and the dream was never materialized we will never know. phil crane was not just a dreamer. phil crane was a doer. and because of the work, sweat, the toil that he invested, not dozens, not hundreds but thousands of members of congress who have followed have

had an opportunity to be among their colleagues and grapple with the pathway forward. so much of what we do here on the house floor seems so scripted today and what phil crane wanted was an opportunity for us to discuss, an opportunity for us to challenge one another, an opportunity for us to make each other better. for all the things that phil accomplished, for all the impact he had on his family and his friends, this may seem minor. but if you're a young member in the us u.s. house of representative -- in the u.s. house of representatives, the legacy that phil crane left behind isn't something, in many cases it's everything. i cannot imagine what this institution would be today without the groundwork that he laid those many years ago. and continued -- the groundwork he continued to lay until the day he left this institution,

as a proud legacy of the great state of illinois. and i'm grateful to my friend for allowing me to come down and talk about that tonight. mr. davis: thank you to the gentleman from georgia. the gentleman from georgia mentioned the great legacy that phil crane left and it was a great legacy that not only former congressman phil crane left for those of us who follow him in illinois, it's a great legacy for former congressman lane evans, that he left too. and my colleague from georgia also mentioned what would a young member of congress say if phil crane were here today. the inspiration that he gave to all of us. and i'd like to now recognize my colleague, one of the youngest members of congress, and my good friend from the great state of illinois, aaron schock, for five minutes to offer his remarks. schock schock -- mr. schock: thank you, my good friend from illinois, for yielding the time. i also want to thank my colleague from illinois, the distinguished dean of the illinois republican delegation, for organizing the tribute to the late phil crane.

the history of american conservatism i believe cannot be written without mentioning phil crane. phil was born into a large family, to stalwart republican parents. crane's bed time stories may well have been the federalist papers or the collected works of edmund burke. after completing his ph.d. in history at indiana university, phil moved to my hometown of peoria, illinois, and he began teaching history, philosophy and economics at my alma mater, bradley university. for years crane filled his classes with students captivated by his engaging lectures. and he inspired them by his commitment to america's founding principles. all the while he worked to build conservative youth movements from the ground up. creating leading groups like the young america's -- americans foundation. together with the pantheon of american conservatism, william f. buckley, ed full in her,

barry goldwater, and even ronald reagan, crane helped lead the republican party out of the wilderness. i don't think it's an overstatement to suggest that a governor republican majority would never have been possible without the gentleman from illinois, the honorable phil crane. he was willing to enter the arena, to confront the ideologies of socialism, communism and big government liberalism head-on. he armed conservatives with the intellectual fire power they needed to assault the big government. and he lived long enough to see the new right emerge strong and resilient. in congress he was a fierce advocate for free trade and pro-growth economic reforms. and he was a champion of commonsense pension reforms that were needed to help the middle class. a few years ago, phil was honored at a dinner here in washington for his

contributions to the conservative movement. that night, surrounded by the men and women he'd worked alongside for more than three decades, he reflected on his earliest memories growing up in a conservative -- as a conservative in illinois. he told the crowd that night how every time when he was a young boy going to visit his grandfather, that his father would make him shake his grandfather's hand. and he would say, son, remember shaking that hand. that hand has shaken the hand of abraham lincoln. phil crane grew up with the deep sense that he had a responsibility and a calling to keep the party of lincoln tied forever to the principles of free enterprise, individual liberty and peace through strength. through his entire public service, phil crane fought hard for the things he believed in and along the way he managed to train an army of young

conservatives to join him. there's something poignant about the fact that phil crane lived long enough to see the largest republican majority in the house of representatives in his lifetime. he even got to see his home state of illinois elect a republican governor. the first time since 1892 that a sitting president's home state governor switched parties. in his eight decades, phil labored to build the conservative movement. in his final days, he surely sensed that his labors were not in vein. with that i -- vain. with that i yield back the balance of my time. mr. davis: thank you to my good friend from illinois and i'd be remiss if i wasn't able to offer my prepared remarks on congressman crane and also congressman evans before we recognize some of our other friends who are here tonight. so, mr. speaker, i want to say it's a privilege for me to be able to stand on the floor of this house to recognize the life and accomplishments of two

great leaders from the state of illinois. congressman phil crane was first elected in the 13th district of illinois to represent the northwest chicago suburbs in 1969 and held that office for nearly 40 years. at the time, the end of his career, he was the longest serving republican member of the u.s. house of representatives. congressman crane was in a word a legend. he was one of those larger than life politicians that we often talk about or read in history books. but rarely exist today. . we also take the time to mourn the los of congressman lane evans. last week, former congressman lane evans passed away after a long battle with parkinson's disease. mr. evans a former marine, was elected in 1982 and served the people of the 17th district for part of three decades. over the course of his tenure he, secured -- or serve maryland

parts of illinois that i am now lucky and proud enough to represent. during his 24 years in the house, he was a staunch advocate for our nation's veterans and america's working men and women and his service to his constituents was second to none. he will be remembered as a fighter, both for the people he represented and against the disease that eventually took his life. so it's fitting today, republicans and democrats together, have come to the floor to honor the lives of two great public servants from illinois and thank them for their service to our country. we send our thoughts and prayers to the famloifs congressman evans and crane -- families of congressmen evans an crane during this difficult time. now i would like to take this opportunity, i mentioned republicans and democrats coming to the floor of the house to honor these two great men and it gives me great privilege to yield five minutes to -- to yield such time as he may consume, actually, to my good

friend and colleague from the great state of illinois, mr. dan lipinski. mr. lipinski: thank you, mr. davis. mr. speaker, i rise to honor two of our former colleagues, phil crane and lane evans. first on phil crane, i didn't have the opportunity to serve with mr. crane, but phil crane was certainly a giant, as some of our previous speak verse said. giant of the conservative movement. and he certainly served here in this institution, but also in -- just in the wider circles, especially in the 1980's. he ran for president in 1980, lost to ronald reagan, but many of those things that ronald reagan brought forward and saw through were things that phil crane stood for. and while i may not agree with

everything that phil crane did there is no denying the fact that he stood up for what he believed. in he fought very hard for what he believed in. and he was a great american patriot. i really, truly believe that. i also want to honor our former colleague and a friend and mentor of mine, lane evans. from his time in the marine corps to nearly a quarter century in this house, lane always put his country first. he bravely served in the marine corps during the vietnam war. his experiences in the military and his firsthand knowledge of veteran's issues led him to become a leading advocate for veterans in his time in congress. certainly many would say he was the leading advocate. on issues critical to veterans such as post-traumatic stress disorder, effects of agent

orange, and homelessness, he was consistently a lead for the rafting real policy solutions. in addition to the great work on veterans issues, lane always dutyfully served his constituents in the state of illinois. he was a strong advocate for working people, one of the first to see the need for renewable energy. now, personally, my own experiences in congress began about 30 years ago, when i interned for lane evans. my time in his office certainly showed me how to be truly compassionate and effective leader in the house. lane really cared about people. and that showed through in everything that he did. he was very passionate in all that he did. during his final years, he again showed his courage and strength in his fight with parkinson's

disease. it's a -- if this terrible disease had not afflicted lane, i'm sure he'd still be here today fighting for his constituents, for hardworking families, and for all of our veterans, especially those who are coming home today. so i send out my prayers to lane truly missily and we him. i had the opportunity to serve four years with lane before he had to retire because of parkinson's, but i really miss having lane around and i think his example that he gave is truly something we can look up to and emulate and what he did for the state of illinois, along with what phil crane did for the state we had two men who were very passionate, very different ideas, but very passionate about

what they believed in and fought hard for those things and that certainly deserves our great respect and everything that our prayers and all that goes out to their families on this loss. mr. davis: thank you to my good friend from illinois, mr. lipinski, who had the opportunity to get to know lane evans not only as an intern but also as a colleague. i never had that opportunity to serve with either mr. crane or mr. evans but i had the opportunity to be able to work for the dean of our republican illinois delegation, mr. shimkus, who were here earlier tonight, and i got to meet both of these men during my time working for mr. shimkus in the late 1990's and throughout the last decade. and i can tell you, both gentlemen were pillars of public service. for very different reasons.

they both served their state well. they served their district well. they served their constituents well. as a matter of fact, i had the opportunity, and it might have been during one of the times that mr. shimkus mentioned a flight from -- that mr. crane was taking from springfield that ended up at vi dalea where he appeared at an event on behalf of mr. shimkus, i got to hear him speak, his passion for free markets and his passion for development and economic growth and his passion for free trade was evident during his discussion. that was one of the few times i got a chance to actually experience what many, when i was growing up, experienced watching phil crane in person run for the presidency in 1980 and let me remind you, mr. speaker that in 1980, we had many illinoisans vying to send to the -- to ascend to the presidency, not only our -- mr. reagan, president reagan, who was born in illinois, we also had mr.

crane, congressman phil crane and also john anderson, congressman john anderson. looks like illinois was the center point of the presidential election in 1980 and illinois still obviously plays a great role in the white house today. but this is an opportunity that we have to stand here, to talk about bipartisanship in washington, d.c. something that many people turn their tv's on and they don't see. they don't see bipartisanship that we're seeing here tonight. and that chance to see congressman crane in action helped inspire me to want to become a member of this institution. he served the 13th district that i'm now blessed enough to represent. and that district is start -- that district, starting with marguerite church and donald rumsfeld and then phil crane, and we had robert mcclourry john erlinborn and judy biggert

who served the 13th district before i did. now i get the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of people like phil crane and those aforementioned of this great institution. and it humbles me every day to know that i get the chance to follow in their footsteps. congressman lane evans, i got a chance to know him and his successor, congressman phil heir, once a fellow -- phil hare, once a fellow staffer for lane evans, we sat next to each other in illinois talking about how republicans and democrats can work together to make sure that water infrastructure needs and sewer infrastructure needs are addressed in montgomery county, illinois. i now get a chance to serve montgomery county, illinois. when we get back to that time when lane evans never thought he'd leave the rock island area and represent montgomery county, illinois, but he did, and he did it well. we got a chance to work together

s staffers, larry hare and i and others. opportunities to see leadership in action and bipartisanship in action is another reason why i wanted to be a member of this great institution. lane evans never thought he would come down and represent areas like my home county in christian county, illinois. lane evans, i remember the first time he was in that city, mispronounced it. he was the type of guy who could laugh at himself. you make a mistake in this business, sometimes that mistake is turned into a 30-second ad. he was able to take that mistake and turn it into humor and represent that city extremely well. now mr. speaker, i learned a lot about constituent service from my former boss john shimkus, but i also learned a lot about constituent service from lane evans. lane evans taught many of us that it is most important, the

most important part of our job, to make sure you answer every phone call. you answer every time a constituent writes you a letter. or in today's day and age, an email. you make sure you respond to their requests. because members of our communities, citizens of the 13th district of illinois they don't call us at the beginning of their problems. they call us to help break through the bureaucracy of washington, d.c. when they're at the end of their rope. when they've already called the federal agencies. when they've already not gotten the answers that nay they needed or deserved and what john shimkus and lane evans taught me while seeing them in action, what they taught me was responding to our constituents' needs is what matters most and it is a part of our job that i appreciate the most. now i mentioned lane evans came

down to central illinois in a new district that included a county that i now am blessed enough to represent. i'd be remiss if i didn't take this opportunity and this time that we're honoring the service of congressman phil crane and honoring the service of congressman lane evans, i want to honor another gentleman, another public servant from mccoopen county, illinois who passed away at the age of 50 this week. his name is brad demusial. he was the son of longtime state senator, an institution in central illinois, vince demusial. i got to know brad when i got the chance to meet his dad, vince. vince was a power house in illinois politics. we didn't share the same partisan affiliation but what we shared was friendship and

opportunities to serve central illinois together. vince passed away from colon cancer a few years back. he was succeeded in the illinois state senate by his wife, deanna, who happens to currently be the mayor of car linville, illinois, and somebody -- carlinville, illinois, and somebody i'm blessed to work with. but before her, brad served as mayor for multiple terms. brad was also the director of state inois secretary of -- illinois secretary of state police. he served in that position until he passed away unexpectedly last week. he was a public servant, through and through. for his community and for our communities. and there was a time in the illinois state capitol when we had somebody who was mentally ill walk in with a loaded gun

and fire a shot that killed a friend of mine. bill wozniak, who was guarding the door. brad helped lead the charge to make sure that we create and illinois state capitol police force that secured the illinois state capitol to ensure that bill wozniak was the last person to be killed in the line of duty guarding the illinois state capitol. brad demusial worked with our secretary of state to make sure this police force was put into action. that's true leadership. that's public service, and that's why i stand here on the floor of the house today to honor also my friend who died way too young at age 50. former mayor, former director of the illinois secretary state police and my friend, brad

demusial. it gives me great pleasure tonight to honor these three great men because their inspirations to me -- buzz they're inspirations to me and -- because they're inspirations to me and they'll be inspirations to future generations of illinois' public servants. thank you, phil crane, for your service to this countried on our state. thank you, lane evans for your service to this great institution. and thank you, brad demusial for your service to the great state of illinois. with that, i see no other members down here to recognize the service of these great men, and mr. speaker, i take this opportunity to yield back the alance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time yields back. does the gentleman have a otion? mr. davis: the gentleman -- the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. mr. davis: the gentleman --

yes, i'd like to make a motion to adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. mr. davis: mr. speaker, i'd like to move that we adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. mr. davis: aye. the speaker pro tempore: in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands adjourned until 9:00 a.m.

>> good afternoon. of our leadership team. together of focus will continue listening to the american their and making priorities ours.

we decided to debate the keystone pipeline. hopefully the senate will pass it. this will lower energy costs and great jobs. fund: is not going to be easy. for the sake of american president obama will send this -- sign this. >> i want to start by congratulating the new leadership team. thanking my constituency. the election was a very hard on. watched ican public has from obama care. the challenge that this

has had is incompetent. spoke about er keystone pipeline, it is about the jobs and moving forward. that as we move to the end of the year, the house and the senate will work together. we have numerous bills a we want to make to the president. both houses and the president need to work together to put america first. a few months ise ago, the house republicans will and courage to lead. honor to be reelected and to serve as the house majority. we're excited about the opportunities we have to work together and get our country

back on track. the president said this would referendum on his agenda, the public took him to his word. we talked about bills over 350 passed over the house to get our country back on track and were stuck in the senate. we want to get a congress and the washington that works. this lots ook at house majority, one of the most diverse congress is we have had. we have great people coming in with great ideas. the trends of problems for the american people. i'm glad to form part of this leadership team. to try and get our country back on track.

i too am excited. is s is a team that committed to listening, committed to advancing for real solutions. trying to make life better for every person in this country. it is a team that represents every corner of this country. we are united, in a belief. we are going to work every day to get the solutions to create opportunities and allow peopleto have more opportunities. the on the traditional left and

right, this really is a debate future of this country. we t kind of country are going to have the apart into that going to be available for the people of this country. we look forward to times ahead. to good afternoon, i want thank my constituents for reelecting me. we had a big week in the country sent the big message. you have to drive the bus we're going to do that as republicans. perspective we l in deep blue territory. from sunset to

sunrise republicans were elected. this is an incredible opportunity for us to grow as a party. have opportunities and seats. we want to retain and gain. first we have to govern and that is what we all committed to do. >> this is an exciting opportunity for me. i want to thank the voters in indiana. we're put here by the people who represent. american people spoke loudly and if our party an opportunity. this conference is very serious about making this economy jump.

that starts tomorrow with the vote on the keystone pipeline. thank you. >> hi. i am a freshman. i am very excited to be part of this team and be the voice of the freshman class. we have a wonderful diverse group of new members. i'm looking forward to meet them and know them. it is a great opportunity to work with the rest of this group. they eaker boehner, will president from take action. he has made st clear he does not believe in

the constitutional responsibility. and he does not have the authority to do that. if he continues going down this path. wrong way to govern. this is exactly what american said on election day did not want. are on the ions discussions having with our members, about how we will fight this if he proceeds. all options on the table. set the government shutdown. >> our goal is to start the president violating the shut down on, is not the government. you s a mechanism by what can stop him? >> we're looking at all

options. which is want to stop him from then this. >> what other options are you looking at? >> every administration needs this and it's that. if you want to go on his own not are things that he's going to get. >> has democrats will vote on their leaders week. tomorrow the house will vote on a bill for keystone x pipeline. show the debate later.

the democratic vice to hold a press conference about the pipeline. questions crats to about the mid-elections and the present obama should take action on immigration. it is about 30 minutes. >> we ready? good afternoon, and the chairman of the house democratic. by next week will have a leadership elections. will have the official slate of

leadership by next week. of ch is finished a meeting the democratic members of the corner of 114th congress. we had the opportunity of being turned by the incoming members. we discussed moving forward as 114th congress for the next two years. we're happy to receive your colleagues at these press conference. briefly, because we want to get to the incoming members, i want say that once again you are group g the most diverse of elected representatives in anybody in the world.

thirds of the incoming democrats are women. among them many people of color and they come from as diverse a grant as you can imagine. we're very happy for the new numbers i look forward to welcoming all of them into the caucus. to do, we ave work believe the people of this us to get done the work of the hundred and 13th. quiet but to do, way to make sure we get a budget done so we cannot get a shutdown scenario again. where we lose billions of dollars of economic capability. i think a lot of us believe

over the next month we get a new able to budget for the fiscal year of 2014 2015. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] is we have not seen the senate confirm a surgeon general for this country. there are a number of nominations that must work its way in before the end of the year. we believe that we heard the public right. we will stick to