Marty Durbin's remarks at press briefing teleconference on Keystone XL

As prepared for delivery

Press briefing teleconference on Keystone XL
Marty Durbin, API executive vice president
May 8, 2012

Opening statement:

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for calling in.

Today, Mario Lopez, the president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, is joining me to discuss the Keystone XL project. Thanks, Mario, for taking time out of your schedule.

I’ll make just a few points and then turn it over to Mario for his perspective. Then we’ll be happy to take your questions.

First, it’s no surprise that API continues to call on the president to approve the full Keystone XL pipeline project. Other things that haven’t changed since the administration completed more than three years of the most comprehensive review of any pipeline project:

• The earth hasn’t moved and the geology hasn’t changed;
• The conclusions of multiple environmental reviews haven’t changed;
• The fact that this shovel-ready project can put thousands of the safest, most highly trained and productive workers in the world to work almost immediately hasn’t changed; and,
• The energy security benefits provided by increased access to both Canadian oil as well as oil being produced in the upper Plains states hasn’t changed.

So as conferees begin work on the transportation bill today, we’d like to remind the president and the Congress that bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate have voted in favor of the Keystone XL project, and a recent Gallop poll shows strong public support for project by a 2-1 margin. In addition, the state of Nebraska is fully engaged in a process to quickly choose a new route that avoids sensitive areas.

To borrow from the president’s campaign, it’s time to move forward on this critical project. Keystone XL is as “good-to-go” as it gets.

So we call on the president and Congress to move this project forward.

Now, let me turn to Mario Lopez, president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund for his comments.