going to take 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 thatthe s 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,ight 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 [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] plan to announce their leadership sometime next week. follow the house live on c-span when members gavel back in tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. eastern. on the next "washington journal," an update on health

care enrollment in the impact on consumers with jane o'donnell from "usa today." a look at the effect of the health care law on the u.s. economy. henry aaron from the brookings institution and professor casey mulligan joining us. live every morning at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. drain the conversation on facebook and twitter. -- join the conversation. the c-span city tour takes book tv and american history tv on the road traveling to learn about cities history and literary life. we partner with charter communications to go to madison, wisconsin. he's one of the most important in the history of the unitedntury of the states. he defined progressivism. he was one of the first to use

the term to self identify. he was a united states senator who was recognized by his peers in the 1950's as one of the five greatest in american history. was an opponent of world war i and stood his ground advocating for free speech. was about bob follett the people. he gave speeches all over wisconsin. if you wanted a speaker for your club or group, bob love follett would give a speech. he went to every event imaginable and built a reputation for himself. by 1900, he was ready to run for governor advocating on behalf of the people. >> we are sitting in the first studio of frank lloyd wright. he was actually born which is

not too far from here. his family took him first to way wa, massachusetts --wa ymouth, mass. he attended a few years at the university of wisconsin before he decided to take off and find his fortune in chicago. he decided he should come out to this part of the country which jones familylloyd was, welsh pioneers. he spent his teenage summers in this valley and in these hills. it's where he got his love of nature and his understanding of nature. he also got his understanding of the topography of these hills. >> watch all of their events saturday and sunday on american history tv on c-span

3. coming up, ohio congressman tim ryan speaking about the house democrats agenda in the next congress and the issues left to be debated in the lame-duck session. from "washington journal," this is 45 minutes. >> washington journal continues. our first guest of the morning's representative tim ryan of ohio. he is a member of both the budget and appropriations committees. welcome, sir. guest: great to be with you. an assessmentgive of what happened this last election season? guest: do i have to? [laughter] we got our butts kicked. it was clear in ohio and clear across the country. my concern is, i don't think we necessarily talked about the things that we have done, by the president has done, that the democrats have done to stabilize

the economy. we have stabilize the economy, the curb -- efforts on health care and gas. and it's about growing the economy and creating jobs, increasing income, securing pensions, making sure people have approved mobility. we did not really talk about that. when democrats don't talk about economics, we usually use -- lose elections. ofyou look at the history the party, when we don't do that, we get our butts kicked. voters knewk the who they were going to come out and vote for and why they were going to vote. there are still huge levels of economic insecurity and huge levels of economic inequality. the averagetalk to voters, not just democrats, but those who are on the sidelines, we will not get them to come out to vote. we need to talk about how we're going to grow the economy and i think we should talk about it because democrats are better at it. i was in cleveland, ohio at a

business roundtable and i had a business person say, i've never done so well as i did under clinton. democrats know how to do this. we know how to put the partnerships together. we recognize the value of investing in the economy, whether it is transportation, infrastructure, education, research -- these are the things that have always grown our economy. when he to talk about it and we need to say, this is what we do for the people who carry a lunch bucket -- we need to talk about it and we need to say, this is a we do for people who carry lunch bucket. party have done something better with messaging this election cycle? us to i would have liked talk about economics for stub we did not talk about what we were into that of eight and 2009 and how we got here. we did not talk about how we save the auto industry. we did not talk about those things that really stabilized us. we did not talk of the stec market. -- the stock market for step those positive, but we have a long way to go. why would we want to turn the

keys back to a party that got us in that predicament in the first place? moving forward, we need to talk about how we are the party of economic growth, of economic opportunity, and how we build a new economy. everything should fit under that mantra. that should be what we do. we move forward. we grow the economy. we know how to do it. forif the tax cuts primarily the top 1% were going to be great for the economy, we would be experiencing it right now. i've always said that after the congressns controlled and bush was in, we didn't have to pick about what supply-side economics -- didn't have to think about what supplies and economics would look like. we experienced it. the financial institutions, the tax cuts across the board, the disinvestment, and we saw the collapse. we sought an experienced it, and

we should not go back there for stop democrats need to have confidence in what we do with the economy. pelosi said what happened the other night was a wave approval. they won the election, but there was no wave of approval for anyone. do you agree with her assessment? ohio, there was no message from the republicans. it was, we like puppies and senior citizens and women, and those are generally the commercials. but i don't think there was necessarily an affirmative vote. she is correct on that. kicked, we got our butts , and i think around the country it wasn't what we wanted. host: would you say that obama is -- president obama is part of why you lost? guest: there's plenty of blame to go around. we all need to take some responsibility. at the problem is, we didn't

talk about president obama in the sense of his successes, too. like i said, the stock market, we are bending the curb on cost of health care, and we are we're protecting people from being denied for pre-existing condition. young people are able to stay on their parents health care. those are positive things. we could naming get the 40% to approve a loan while -- of obama. successes.some granted, he is midterm of the second term. he will not be as popular. but even those people were not coming out to vote, because they you arehink -- well, not even talking not the things you did right and you are not embracing the policies. come are not even going to out and vote for you. we saw a drop off in mahoney county, which is youngstown, ohio, of over 20,000 voters from the 2010 election.

2010 was the hardest we've been in in terms of wave election ohio in recent history. in my largest county, we were 20,000 plus votes less that went to the polls. were't think we necessarily talking to them in the grand scheme about why he you should get out to vote and why it's important. tim ryan, representative from ohio joining us. he is a member of the budget and appropriations committee. if you want to call, the numbers are on the screen. let's hear from brenda in houston, texas. on tim ryan. i've watched you for years now as long as you have been in congress, and i applaud that you have always been positive. you've always been supportive of this president. work -- i did

volunteered for the democratic party this late summer and early fall. and i have to tell you, the writing was on the wall even with our democrat constituents. they were very upset about this immigration thing. i think that really hurt us. and it hurt me as a black woman. i'm going to find it very hard to vote for hillary because of the way the democratic party -- and i will say all of you guys. we know the ones, how they treated this president. this is beyond humiliation, and i'm very upset about it. host: thank you. mr. ryan? .uest: we are democrats we are going to have our fights and no disagreements, and i agree with the president as well. but i think you cannot run from

what you've done. if we did it, we believed in it, and we thought it was best for our people and our constituents. and you stand by it. and if the president was part of that, you stand by him as well. and i think you get credit from the voters are saying, we wanted to do health care. other issues? yes, and we need to fix them for but we are finally starting to healthe curve on cost of care. and we are helping people who were being hogtied by insurance companies and not being able to get covered anything there -- and hitting their lifetime limits. those are the things that people call my congressional office about in ohio, and we did something about it. we should be proud of that. host: republican line, gail, good morning. yes, good morning for so we are in the low 30's for the first time in a long time. it's a little silly. i just wanted to make a quick comment.

i've never been completely for republican, completely against democratic. i've always been on the midline. but after the beginning of the obama presidency, i really ticket shift to the strong republic. the comments you made about been in the cost of health care down, well, actually, if you have been watching any of the news, we have a fellow who called the americans stupid. and i think he is correct. we have increased the pocket amount that everybody pays. yes, they are employed. i know my husband is an employer, and we have certainly cut hours down and we have laid others off. incorrect.comment is your second, stable economy. how many people do we have working full-time versus

part-time? we don't have a stable economy anymore. the economy has very much declined. no one wants to hire a full-time employee and pay health-care care costs. i wonder why. stabilitythe economic , and loan numbers on gas, that just took place very recently. i could think back before the obama administration i was only paying $2.05 for gas. -- $2.25 for gas. guest: a couple of things, first of all, as far as bending the cost of health care, i think that is important. i don't think you can just say, well, the health care isn't working about -- working out the way we want it to. some folks act like it was the effort ofore a care act. like everything was perfect with the health-care system -- before the affordable care act, like everything was perfect with the

after system. is it perfect? , but ultimately, it will be good for the economy because we are storing to reduce health care costs. and you think about innovation, and i know this is something we have not talked about enough. iran young people in our economy to be able to go out and innovate, to start a bit -- we want young people in our economy to be able to go out and innovate, to you are less inclined to go out and start a new company and start a new business, innovate, create value, and higher people. now with the affordable care act, he will have access to affordable health care. you are more inclined to take risks. people will be out supporting the entrepreneurs that are out there in a variety of ways, but the health-care bill is an opportunity to do that. things were not perfect before but we brought justice to the health-care system. -- let'sa, let's get get back to work and fix what needs to be feet -- to be fixed.

about how the bill passed in part because of the stupidity of the american voter. how do you feel about that? guest: the american people are not stupid. be madet that needs to is that these are very complicated issues and there is no way you will reform the health care system without having to get into the weeds and have details. if you are home and you are working two jobs and you have a couple of kids and you have soccer practice, you are not going to have time to read the affordable care act and all the implications. youhe end of the day, if pull out the numbers item by through the affordable care act, pre-existing conditions, should we get rid of them, there is approval for that. the whole list individually, removing the politics and removing the

president, these are positive things people support. >> the story says those comments caught the attention of the house speaker and mitch mcconnell talking to their constituents. what do you think it means as far as the politics of the affordable care act moving forward? >> who knows? i would not be surprised if people try to repeal it. be to the republican -- meant. they need to talk about issues that are important to the american people, and not polarizing and not giving ultimatums with the president. they need to sit down and create a new spirit with their caucus to compromise and move the country forward. >> we will have a ground table discussion about economics and health care tomorrow morning on our program. from ohio, here is teri. independent line. >> thank you. i have to say i did vote for you.

i think you are a good congressman. thanks to c-span. i don't abuse you that the democrats have not talked about the things that they have done that are good. for instance, the economy was in decline and barack obama kind of stepped on -- stepped in and did everything. but also, i think people in ohio forget about how he opposed public employees. retired firefighter. in ohio, ofdering course. what i really wanted to speak to you about is, i am an independent. you,lly want to convey to but i mostly lean democratic and my vote, but what i want to convey, this issue with

immigration, legalizing these illegals, that will hurt. i know it is a political move and the president is trying to get the aesthetic quote -- hispanic vote, etc., but it is a way to hurt the democratic party. most people do not agree. i know it is not amnesty. the details, whatever, that people will stay here and it will be hard to get rid of them. to get them out. hear what youto have to say. thank you. it would be in our interest as a country to bring them online. they need to learn interest -- learn english and pay a fine and pay taxes, which will help contribute to the economy and

programs like social security and medicare. i think these are all net benefits for why we should allow them to work their way into the country legally. there is no way we will round everybody up and throw them out of the country. that makes no sense. there is no way to do that and we shouldn't. the reality is, they are here, and what will we do to resolve this situation? we need to sit down and have a thoughtful discussion. learn the language and pay a fine for violating the law, and start paying taxes. you do that, you will now be a contributing member of society and over several years, you start achieving some of those objectives and come into the country. welcome to america.

>> new jersey, democrats line. >> i am concerned about income inequality, a very real problem. my fellow democrats, unfortunately, seem to ignore one of the main causes, which is illegal aliens. employersscrupulous who hire them, because it is cheaper than hiring americans. notoriousndustry is for this. it holds down wages for everybody unskilled or semiskilled. there are laws against it. employers frogged it off as the cost of doing business. i do not think anything will change until these corrupt employees are put behind bars there it what i am concerned about is the executive amnesty we are hearing about. the president grants amnesty to

millions of illegal aliens. in effect the giving amnesty to employers? >> i think that if the argument for a comprehensive approach to dealing with illegal immigrants. instead of having the president have to go off by himself and tried to resolve this problem. i think you are absolutely right, these employers know when they are hiring an illegal immigrant. they know it. they should be hammered for it. will stop they flow. the people who are here, it is important for us to understand, we need to work them into the system, like i said. when the language and pay a fine and pay taxes here. the issue about income inequality is important. income inequality, at the levels for the today, is that economy. you cannot have economic growth and have this much disparity between the wealthiest and the poorest.

there is no way, if you do not have a strong middle-class. you do not have people to sell products to, consumers who have enough money in their pockets to be able to go out and purchase things in the economy. inequality is bad for economic growth. getting back to the first question, what do democrats stand for, we stand for growth. you get growth by reducing the levels of inequality. that means making sure we have a strong minimum wage. when you begin to legalize citizens and they start to make a minimum wage, that will drive it up for other people. investments in roads and bridges. you want to put construction to work? the society for engineers says we have a three to four trillion dollar transportation deficit, investments that need to be made to get our infrastructure up to par. that will put people back to work. then you start getting money circulating in the economy again.

these are the investments we need to make. how do we take down dilapidated homes in major cities? knock them down and reinvest back into our cities and make sure we clean up our brownfield. how do we incentivize manufacturing in the united states, jobs that pay more and have more secure pensions and better benefits? those are the kinds of jobs we need. how do we continue to grow manufacturing jobs in the united states? put a littlewe can phrase on a bumper sticker and say, that sounds good. taxes, government, less and everything will work out. we tried that and it did not work. economic development is complicated. you need a public willing to make investments. in ohio, we have a $1 billion steel mill that just went up. thought they were never be a new steel mill in ohio but there is one. we used about $20 million from the stimulus bill to do some site preparation work and work

closely with the state. without that money, the deal is not going down. then, chinese steel tubing dumped in the united states. the chinese said we will not make this investment and less we know our government will help level the playing field. we do those two things and bone. one million -- a billion-dollar investment, putting construction trades to work for a year and a half to two years. start saying, to i will go to community college because of the work i had over the past couple years. and theis one thing, economy will take off, saying that is a real mistake because it them -- it simplifies otherwise complicated work we have to do. but it takes all of these other strategic moves that need to be made. you do not score a touchdown on a football field without saying, ok, we have to get the defense to go this way and tricked them

and come back and make a block. got to do 10 things to score a touchdown. is the sameelopment thing. you need a good and strong strategy in a variety of areas to make things work. >> let's hear from new york, a republican line. i know that you sincerely think that everything you just said, you sincerely believe it. but the rest of us don't. the 5ou talk about million immigration problem, you're talking about bringing people in and taking low-paying jobs and paying social security and everything else. but we have to subsidize them. because they are being paid such low wages. it goes on and on and on.

we see is people coming in from outside the country, taking the jobs, not paying their way, and what about all the people who waited on line? are many years, to become citizens? that is what these people will be given. they will be given all the rights the citizen has, and probably eventually become citizens. towe have a problem we need fix and we have to be realistic about how we fix it and how to be fair. as i said before, i think it is important these folks learn the language and pay a fine and start paying taxes into the programs so we are not subsidizing them anymore, so they are self-sufficient and can try to experience the american dream and create value. part of our responsibility, i think, is to make sure other countries, primarily in mexico, have a strong economy. we put millions of mexican workers and farmers out of work.

we devastated their economy. now folks are coming over the border and they're very desperate. just think of the desperation you have to be living in if you are willing to take all the risks to come to the united states. things must be bad. what we past exacerbated the problem and in many ways created him a to where we have so many mexicans who want to come over the border and come into the united this. reevaluating exactly how we approach our geopolitical strategies and even the strategies in our hemisphere, i think that is important that we don't have to have the same issue in the future. but we also need to be upfront with what is happening in immigration so we can process people quicker payroll some of the, immigration is a good thing for the economy and helps grow the economy. if we are not making investments that will put our building trades to work, that will make a reinvestments back into the

united states, invest into economy, and the we will continue to have this divide with issues like inequality and immigration. >> the agenda for democrats and the upcoming congress, that is the topic for our guest. tim ryan is on the budget and appropriations committee. 50 lawmakers in the house are signing a letter asking for language to keep the president from moving on immigration and tying that to the bill that will keep funding past december 11. aside from that, where are we in the process of the bill as december 11 approaches? >> we just got done here last night so i may just to hear exactly what the plan is today. we have got to fund the government and i think the republican strategy will be, we will find it until we get back in and we have a majority in the senate. strategically for them, i think that is the move they will make. i imagine there will be something done to move that forward. sure what they plan on doing with immigration, but i do

not think we should tie the president's hansa now. this is politics. they are trying to handcuff the president on this issue and trying to use their muscle as far as the incoming majority. this will be very interesting political science over the next >> you seehere at some type of bill happening by the 11th? what gives you confidence in that? let's go next to stanley, virginia, alan on our independent line. wes good morning to you. i would like to make a couple of comments. 2010 andok back in compare it to 2014 as far as the democrats controlling everything, they made a lot of the same mistakes republicans made earlier. on the other hand, if you look at the agenda for the last six years under obama, and you look , for example, you

talk about benghazi. you talk about the economy. the list goes on and on. they were ineffective. the issue with immigration is a very serious issue and what the senator says makes a lot of sense, but the point i would like to make is this has been going on for six years. republicans been? where have you all been? we keep talking and the burden is put on the taxpayers of america. there is never a real good -- they cannot seem to come to a good and sensible agreement that would benefit the people as a whole. immigration,inst but we cannot enforce the laws we have, i do not understand. if you would comment on that, i would appreciate it. thank you so much. >> it is a difficult situation. it is difficult to enforce, and we need to be about enforcement, for illegals.

people call the president a to porter because of the high level of people he has deported. people want to change that story a little bit. you have a family of united states, you go through some sort back toss very it gets a gerrymandering issue, where we have extremely conservative republican districts not just in ohio, but across the country, and immigration is not an issue most republicans really want to deal with. they are afraid they will get a primary election next time. that to me is what the holdup has really been. had democrats cap the house and the senate after 2000 10, we would have seen conference of immigration reform. chicago, illinois, democrat line. caller: good morning.

for the first time in 30 years, i am thinking about becoming an independent. cowardice on the part of the democrats. running away from the president, the leader of the party? you alienated everyone. everyone who stuck by the president and has seen the tremendous amount he has been able to accomplish coming out of the great recession. i do not know why democrats do not use that term. all recessions are not equal. that was a us, depression. you do not talk about the long-term unemployment at all. no mention at all of people over 50. i am talking people with advanced degrees with multiple years, experienced. they're supposed to be in the prime of their careers. you do not talk about us. the murdertalk about

of black kids. you do not discuss those things. those are important to the black community. >> he hit the net on the head. we have a democrat talking about moving to be an independent because we were not speaking to will i feed myow family? if you do not talk to folks on how you will help them and their family, you will lose them. we need to be very firm in talking about growing the it,omy, why we are good at how we have done in the past, how we have just got done doing it, climbing out of the great depression we just had, and how we will do that with the next us moving forward. we have the president's is manufacturing initiative, where

he is doing manufacturing innovation. phone fore first additive manufacturing. we have corporations from all , boeing, lusty, that are working on public-private partnership to help grow the new industry, not just globally, but it will also have benefits in ohio. that is the kind of hard work, public-private partnership it will take to help grow the takemy and exploit and advantage of this whole new sector of the economy that is growing. manufacturinge in and advanced manufacturing, it will not just happen. you need to set up these incubators that will help facilitate and grow the public-private partnership. we need to talk about how democrats are a lot better at doing that than republicans are. the head of the democratic national committee says she will form a committee to do soul-searching, taking a look at

the last election. what kinds of questions would you advise her to ask? we know.think it is always good to get input but what is the issue we can all talk about regardless of what congressional district you going to? regardless what region of the country you going to question mark what is the common theme we can all talk about as democrats? to be as it mean democrat? what they think. i think it means, how do we create an environment for those folks to thrive. how do we create an environment where warner people can do andaordinary things i'm a have an opportunity to climb the ladder, start a business, make sure you're healthy, well-educated, and you have both of those things without being bankrupt or too much in debt, so you can go out and create. how do we create an environment in the country where we have a skilled workforce and are reinvesting downtown, river amphitheaters, high

quality of life, that is what this is all about. grandparents love franklin roosevelt? because he gave them a better quality of life. his policies improved them. he knew what they wanted and he gave it to them. we do notrats do it, talk about how we did it, and too often, we do not talk about it. >> dave is up next, republican line. >> good morning. i tend to disagree with you, young fellow. think the only good times this country ever experienced, really good times, has been during the and thenministration the president that lived off of his successes, along with the

influence of newt gingrich, namely bill clinton. your ideas of all these immigrants coming in here and making inks hunky-dory, and everything, there are all types of unemployed americans that would like the jobs they have. they do not deserve to have those jobs. they have no right to those jobs. walk down the street tom i am retired, of course. sometimes, i get bored watching the grass grow. restaurant couple of jobs i would have taken in a nano section -- nano second if it were not for illegal immigrants working those jobs. that is the problem. you have got a lot of people willing to work those low-paying jobs, you call them. they are good jobs for retired people. pension thate a your president has managed with

qe1, qe2, and qe3 programs, diminish the value of the pension to where it is pocket change. well i disagree with you. if youpension issue, have money in the stock market right now, it is the highest it has ever been. a lot of people are feeling more theirour because of investments they have made in the stock markets. i disagree with you there. i do not think there are a whole lot of senior citizens who want to go work on a farm and to of a farm labor that a lot of the illegal immigrants are doing right now, or working in the meat factories like the gentleman a couple of calls ago talked about, where a lot of illegal immigrants are working. i do not think a lot of people want to do those jobs because you're not even making minimum wage. it is indentured servitude. you're not making a minimum wage, you're not getting benefits. americans do not want to work

these. there is a reason why we have minimum wage. americans say if you're going to work 40 hours a week or whatnot, there should be a basic minimum that you should make. illegals are getting paid under the table. by the natural explanation of what it means to be an illegal worker in the country, you will not make minimum wage. these businesses are not paying medicare and paying into medicare or social security on them. not take a good majority of these jobs. the issue is, how do we create a strong middle-class in the united it? i gave, over the last minutes, how i think you do that. i have seen it happen in places like ohio, where we had a business incubator, 400 workers in their, business software, the average wage is $58,000 a year. we continue to grow these different areas. you have got your steel mill, your incubator with 400 people keeping young people and giving young people an opportunity to

come back to places like ohio and making a decent wage. we had a company move rums deficit is go, move some of its operation from india to ohio, actually in sourcing work into ohio, and creating jobs there, because of the environment. that is a public-private partnership. well, it iso say, the illegal immigrants fall or this person's fault or that person's fault, or blame obama. your historical revisions are stunning that you would not even budget the clintons and democrats passed in 1993 that allowed them to lose the house in 1994, it was that decision, that budget, that's a america up for the kind of growth we had in the 90's. largest peacetime expansion, 20 million plus new jobs, every income category saw an increase in wages. if you want to just say, reagan was great and i hate all

democrats, that is fine. the reality is democrats made some us a -- some decisions. yes, gingrich came in and was at that way much more moderate. they were talking about investments in education and research, that they be for the budget on in the 90's. why were they able to do that? they had money. to the clintonk model and to a certain extent with the democrats and the president, what they've done to beef up the economy to try to help the middle-class. the chinese tubing, the auto are givingn, they american companies a fair chance to compete. our guest is representative tim ryan. what else has to happen in this lame duck? what is the priority? >> i do not think a whole lot, we will have issues with the iran sanctions. it is important we keep nuclear weapons from the iranians.

that needs to be a priority and that is coming down the pike here in the next week or two. part,think for the most we will just fund the government. i do not see anything else. we do not want a series of votes today and i am not sure about tomorrow. i think a lot of maneuvering behind the scenes, and there will not be a whole lot done this year. >> what is your take on the keystone pipe issue? >> i have concerns with it. the pipeline has leaked more oil, the existing component of the keystone pipeline has leaked more oil in its first year than anyone year pipeline has in the history of our country. i have safety concerns with it. i know the chinese are a big investor from canada. this is mostly for benefiting canada. so i have some concerns with it. theally want to see what safety issues are. i am concerned too, someone called earlier, before i got on here, about the steel being used

not being made in youngstown or pittsburgh or cleveland. a lot of steel is coming from other places. these are the kinds of things i am concerned about. louisiana, you are next. good morning, independent line. click yes. i am a 66-year-old man, democrat until democrats got back in power. beating --y has been beaten down so hard. they have walked away from us. you have embraced these illegal aliens over what we say, and your arrogant and you want to tell us why we should not think the way we do. we will think the way we do and we will not go vote for them anymore. we sorely need the democratic party back, but you have abandoned us. all you have got to do is the right thing.

you do not need illegals, you do to redistricting and rigging election voting machines, you just need to do the right thing. come back to the people. we desperately need you. i appreciate that, but i think we have a problem on our hands with the number of illegal immigrants in the country and we have to solve it. right-wing approach of, we're going to round everybody up and throw them out of the country, i do not think is reasonable. how do we fix it? we have got to come up with a strategy. i would say with republicans, let's sit down and have a discussion on how to do this. there does not seem to be a whole lot of interest. a small group last year in congress were talking about how the republicans can be a part of solution, and i think just because of how these districts are gerrymandered, and how there are a lot of tea party

members in the house republican caucus, you know, the people looking to fix the problem got skewered. they dropped the whole idea of it. we are trying to solve a problem. it is not like we're trying to go out and look for a problem that will get people fired up. onwant to solve a problem the lap of the american people right now and we have a responsibility to do that. democrats are willing to sit down and figure out a solution. republicans are mia on this issue. thehat you think about statement of the democratic party walking away from people like him? guest: i do not think that is true. i have my criticisms and i think we need to do a better job of talking about how we are good for the economy. there are other issues we need to talk about tiered health, food, and a variety of other issues. what we did with the affordable care act was to help average people. were already on medicaid and just saying, you're just trying to take care of the poorest among us, as if there

was something wrong with that, but people are to have medicaid and health care. we're trying to make sure small businesses have access to justice and the health care system. that is not abandoning average people. that is sticking our neck out to make sure we help average people who are getting banged around in the health care system. if you look at what we did with pell grants, and what we try to do it student loans, those are all things to help average people. i would say, i know couple callers have said we have left the democratic party, but the reality is, we have done things in the last few years, stabilizing the economy. look at the people. there are more billionaires today than ever. people on a high-end are doing well. what we did with the american recovery act and the affordable care act were to try to help average people. i think we made great strides in doing that you request representative tim ryan to talk about the democratic

up, coverage of thursday's congressional meeting. after that, chuck hagel and martin dempsey testifying before the house foreign affairs committee on combating isis. debates au.s. house bill to approve the keystone xl oil pipeline. and, washington journal live with your calls. >> tomorrow, on c-span 2, live coverage of three events. at 9:30 a.m. eastern, a discussion on diversity in the politics hosted by 365. at noon, a house foreign affairs subcommittee hearing on energy supply and security and africa. at 2:00, a look at fiscal policy in the next congress. c-span 2.omorrow at

house gop held their leadership elections thursday behind closed doors. speaker john boehner was elected to his third term as speaker and there were no change in the rest of the leadership lineup. shortly after the vote, the leaders spoke to reporters on capitol hill. >> well, good afternoon. americans have trusted

republicans with control of the house and senate. thise humbled by opportunity. i'm proud of our leadership team that is assembled here. our focus will continue to be listening to the american people and making their priorities our priorities. we have an opportunity in the coming months to do some important things. we have made clear that we will start with those jobs bills that we have passed through the house , almost all on a bipartisan basis, that sit in the senate today. we have decided not to wait on one of them, the keystone pipeline. the house will vote tomorrow to build the keystone pipeline and hopefully the senate will pass it as well. to lower energy cost and create more american jobs. for the sake of american workers, i hope the president will sign this bipartisan bill without delay.

>> i want to start by congratulating the new leadership team. i want to start also by thanking my constituents for the opportunity to serve another two years. was a very large election. lost,erican public has from obamacare to the v.a. to benghazi, the challenge that ans government has had in competency. our mission is to change that. to move america in the right direction. we will start with the keystone pipeline, jobs, the economy. you will find that as we walk into the new year the house and senate will work together. we have a number of bills already sitting that we can move

to the president's desk. we ask for an opportunity to start a new. both houses and the president worked together to put america first. i made a promise when i took the job a few months ago and we will keep that. house republicans will have the weston to listen but the courage to lead. is an honor to be reelected by my colleagues to serve as the house majority whip as well as the opportunity to serve another two years. we are excited about the opportunity we have to get our country back on track. the president said this would be a referendum on his agenda. i think the public took him to his word. if you look throughout our races in the house, both returning members on congress and new members, we talked about bills, over 350 bills that we passed out of the house to get our country back on track that were

stuck in the senate. i think the public said they want to get a congress and a washington that works for them. when you look at this freshman class in this large house majority, one of the most diverse congresses we've ever had, we have some great people coming up with great ideas who came here to get to work solving problems. i'm excited about that thistunity to be part of leadership team that is stronger than ever and more focused on the problems this country is facing. >> i too am excited to congratulate the new leadership team. this is a team that is committed to listening. committed to advancing real solutions, and committed to making life better for every person in this country. that is what focuses us. a team that represents every corner of the country.

andre united in a belief the promise of this country. work every day to advance those policy solutions that will improve people's lives, that will create more opportunities, allow people to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks, moms and dads and recent graduates and veterans, so that they have more opportunities. as i think about the new congress, beyond the traditional left versus right, or even republican versus democrat debate, this is a debate about the future of this country and what kind of country we are going to have and the opportunities for every person. ,e are about a bright future the promise of america. >> good afternoon. i'm greg walden. i thank my constituents for reelecting me and my colleagues

for reelecting me. we had a big week. the country is in a big message. govern, you have to drive the bus. we are going to do that as republicans. deep bluets in territory. some of them by as much as 16%. our candidates won with 60%. to some a lot, sunrise to sunset, republicans were elected all across the country. youngest woman ever elected to congress. incredible opportunity for us to grow as a party. we know 16 will be a different election year. we will have a new red zone. we have opportunities to gain seats. our mission will be to retain and gain. first we have to govern. thank you. messer, the newly

elected policy chair. it is an exciting opportunity to be here. i want to thank the voters in indiana. none of us get to serve in these roles without being first sent to represent. on election night, the american people spoke loudly. any gave our party opportunity and they expect us to deliver. aboutongress is serious delivering policy to jumpstart this economy. that starts tomorrow with the vote on the keystone pipeline. that is just the beginning. thank you. i'm a'm 52 and freshman. i'm very excited to be part of this team and i'm very excited to be the voice for the freshman class at the leadership table. we have a wonderful group of new members. i'm looking forward to getting

to meet them and getting to know them. i'm grateful for the opportunity to work with this group. >> a couple questions? , there is boehner talk that any bill to fund the government must have language in it that would prohibit the president from moving an executive order pertaining to immigration. can you support that? threateningdent is to take action on immigration even though he has made clear he doesn't believe he has the constitutional authority to do that. i will say this, we are going to fight the president to then nail if he continues down this path. this is the wrong way to govern. this is exactly what the american people said they didn't want. all the options are on the table. we are having discussions with our members.

no decisions have been made as to how we will fight this. >> [inaudible] >> all options are on the table. we are going to have conversations with our members and we will let you know. >> you said the government shutdown should be off the table. our goal here is to stop the president from violating his own office and violating the constitution. it is not to shut down the government. >> are you believe there is a mechanism by which you can stop him? >> we are looking at all options. our goal is to stop the president from doing this. >> other than -- [inaudible] every administration needs this and needs that. know, if he wants to go off on his own, there are things he is not going to get.

can you say, no shutdown? house democrats will vote on their leaders next week. tomorrow, the house will vote on a bill introduced by bill cassidy for immediate approval of the keystone xl oil pipeline. further debate took place on the bill today. underway, the got democratic caucus chair and vice chair held a news conference about the pipeline and introduced new democratic members and took questions from reporters on the midterm elections and whether president obama should take executive action on immigration. their news conference is about 30 minutes.

>> are we ready? good afternoon. by next week, we should hold our leadership elections, and we will have the official slate of leadership elected by next week. for now, we just finished a meeting of the democratic members of the house, both those of us who are here as part of the 113th congress, to conclude the work of the 113th during this lame-duck session, and also we had the opportunity to be joined by our incoming members from throughout the country who will join the democratic caucus and discuss moving forward as the 114th congress for the next two years. we are pleased to have several

of our new colleagues join us this afternoon at this press conference. i am joined by the vice chair of the democratic caucus from new york. i want to say this, once again, if you are joining the democratic caucus, you are joining the most diverse group of elected representatives in any body in the world. 2/3 of the incoming democrats to the house of representatives are women. among them, many people of color, and they come from as diverse a background as you can imagine. we are proud of all the incoming members of the house democratic caucus, and we are looking forward to welcoming all of them into the caucus as we proceed forward in the 114th congress. we still have work to do in the we believe as the president has

said, the people of this country expect us to get the work done of the 113th in these past few months, and there is quite a bit to do. we need to make sure that we get a budget in place so we don't have the shutdown scenario again where you lose billions of dollars of economic capability and hundreds of thousands of americans cannot go to work. overnk a lot of us believe the next month we should be able to wrap up the work of getting a budget for fiscal year 2014-2015 in the books for the congress. we are also hoping in this congress we are able to see the senate move through with a confirmation of any number of important positions, whether it might be the attorney general position, but don't forget, we still do not have