Congressman Lee Terry

WASHINGTON-

Today the House of Representatives passed Congressman Lee Terry's North American Made Energy Security (NAMES) Act (H.R. 1938) by a bipartisan vote of 279 to 147. The bill requires the President through the Secretary of Energy to set a schedule for the analysis and decision process regarding the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline. It now moves to the Senate for consideration.

This pipeline has been the subject of more than 1000 days of consideration and a coordinated review by more than a dozen federal agencies. All other cross-border pipelines which have received Presidential permits have taken between 18 and 24 months.
In June, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Laborers' International Union of North America, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the U.S. and Canada wrote a letter urging the passage of the bill. The letter pointed out the project will directly create 20,000 high-wage jobs and generate $6.5 billion in income for workers.

"This bipartisan bill has a simple and straightforward objective – set a schedule, coordinate that schedule, and execute a decision process. The more we delay this decision, the more reliant we become on oil from countries in the Middle East. This bill means less reliance on foreign oil, more jobs, and an energy policy which doesn't rely on less-than-friendly foreign nations. We cannot afford any more delay," Terry said.