Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman Votes to Oppose Keystone XL Pipeline
In one of her first major House votes, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman voted against legislation today to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Rep. Watson Coleman, who was sworn in on Tuesday to represent the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey, was among 153 Democrats to vote against the bill, which passed the House 266 - 153.
H.R. 3 authorizes construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from northwest Canada to the Gulf Coast refineries and exempts the pipeline from all federal permitting requirements, creating a special exemption for one project from requirements that apply to all other construction projects.
According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, tar sands crude produces up to 40% more carbon pollution than conventional oil, and can only be extracted by dirty, destructive methods that severely harm the air, water, and environment of the region.
Watson Coleman said, “I am deeply concerned about the environmental impact of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Approval of this project will increase carbon pollution and threaten our nation’s critical water resources. Furthermore, this legislation does not protect the American people from potential leaks from the highly corrosive crude in the pipeline.”
She continued, “Americans accept all the risk and no reward.” Under this legislation, TransCanada would be exempt from the 8-cents-per-barrel excise tax that funds the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which all other crude oil companies are subject to and pays for recovery in the case of future oil spills. “American taxpayers would likely be on the hook for any clean-ups.”
Rep. Watson Coleman said she heavily deliberated the risks and benefits of the project during Friday’s debate, and ultimately decided that the economic benefits are minimal and that the risks are too high.
“I strongly support infrastructure projects that create good-paying jobs and put New Jerseyans back to work, but the negative implications of the Keystone pipeline strongly outweigh the negligible, so-called benefits of the project. Keystone creates virtually no long term jobs, will have little effect on gas prices, and tramples on our environmental laws. We need sustainable jobs that will drive long term economic growth. Keystone does not do that.”
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