Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.WASHINGTON — Nebraska landowner and Keystone XL opponent Randy Thompson is set to testify Friday on Capitol Hill, as Republican lawmakers ponder the best way to force approval of the controversial project.
Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pushed for Friday's hearing before the panel's Energy and Power Subcommittee. The hearing is a continuation of last week's contentious session examining a proposal by Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., that would essentially mandate the approval of the $7 billion project.
Thompson has complained about aggressive attempts by TransCanada to get him and other landowners to sign right-of-way agreements for the company's proposed 1,700-mile pipeline, which would run from Canada's oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries.
In its fight against the pipeline, BOLD Nebraska has featured the slogan "I Stand With Randy" on T-shirts and signs.
The Energy and Commerce Committee's top Democrat, Rep. Henry Waxman of California, continues to push for someone from Koch Industries to appear before the panel to testify about that company's involvement in the pipeline.
Some pipeline opponents have suggested that Koch is attempting to use its political influence to get the project approved. But Koch is not sending anyone to Friday's hearing, Democrats said.
They also said that Alex Pourbaix of TransCanada Inc., which is trying to build the pipeline, was invited but declined to testify.
Other invited witnesses include Margaret Gaffney-Smith of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Mike Pool of the Bureau of Land Management; and retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steven M. Anderson.
The Obama administration had planned to make a decision on the pipeline by the end of 2011 but delayed it until 2013 to study alternative routes around Nebraska's environmentally sensitive Sand Hills. It rejected the pipeline recently, saying there was not enough time to comply with a congressionally mandated Feb. 21 deadline.
Republicans are now clamoring to simply force approval of the project.
Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and other senators introduced legislation this week that would allow construction on non-Nebraska portions of the pipeline to start immediately. The primary backers made their case for the bill Wednesday on the Senate floor.
"There is no question that we are in a dire situation in this nation. We need the jobs, we need the oil," Johanns said. "And this pipeline can take a significant step forward in both regards."
He said the legislation has been crafted to safeguard the ongoing process to find a new route around Nebraska's Sand Hills. Johanns said that process would "near completion this August or September."
But it's not clear how the legislation would make it through the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said this week that he remains opposed to such legislation because the oil flowing through the pipeline would likely end up being shipped to other countries. He told reporters he would take a look at the legislation if it said the oil had to remain in the United States.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said Congress would be better off focusing on deficit reduction, rather than trying to ram through the pipeline and interfering with efforts to find the right route.
"Congressional meddling has caused enough delays and additional uncertainty already on this pipeline," Nelson said.
Contact the writer:
202-630-4823, joe.morton@owh.com
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