SECOND REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 37
96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES BARNES (Sponsor), CONWAY (27), SCHARNHORST AND JONES (117) (Co-sponsors).
WHEREAS, the United States relies - and will continue to rely for many years - on gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as renewable and alternative sources of energy; and
WHEREAS, in order to fuel our economy, the United States will need more oil and natural gas while also requiring additional alternative energy sources; and
WHEREAS, the United States currently depends on foreign imports for more than half of its petroleum usage and is the largest consumer of petroleum in the world. United States dependence on overseas oil has created difficult geopolitical relationships with potentially damaging consequences for our national security; and
WHEREAS, oil deposits in the Bakken Reserves of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota are an increasingly important crude oil resource, with an estimated 11 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil. There is not enough pipeline capacity for crude oil supplies from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas to American refineries; and
WHEREAS, Canadian oil reserves contain an estimated 173 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Canada is the single largest supplier of oil to the United States at 2.62 million barrels per day and has the capacity to significantly increase that rate; and
WHEREAS, the original Keystone Pipeline which spans across the northern part of Missouri supplies over 435,000 barrels of North American crude oil to American refineries in the Midwest. The Keystone XL Pipeline will, when completed, carry 700,000 barrels of North American crude oil to American refineries in the Gulf Coast region; and
WHEREAS, construction of pipelines linking North American energy to the United States will create hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide, including tens of thousands in construction and manufacturing, creating billions in economic growth and generating millions of dollars worth of government receipts; and
WHEREAS, a recent study by the United States Department of Energy found that increasing delivery of crude oil from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Alberta, Canada, as well as Texas and Oklahoma to American refineries has the potential to substantially reduce our country's dependency on sources outside of North America; and
WHEREAS, Canada sends more than 99% of its oil exports to the United States, the bulk of which goes to Midwestern refineries. Oil companies are investing huge sums to expand and upgrade refineries in the Midwest and elsewhere to make gasoline and other refined products from Canadian oil derived from oil sands. The expansion and upgrade projects have and will create many new construction jobs over the next five years and will add to the gross product of Missouri; and
WHEREAS, 99% of the money used to buy Canadian oil will likely later be spent directly on United States goods and services, in contrast with increasing the trade relationship with unstable regions. Supporting the continued shift towards reliable and secure sources of North American oil is of vital interest to the United States and the State of Missouri:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-sixth General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby strongly:
(1) Support continued and increased development and delivery of oil derived from North American oil reserves to American refineries;
(2) Urge the United States Congress to support continued and increased development and delivery of oil from Canada to the United States; and
(3) Urge the United States Congress to enact legislation deeming the Keystone XL Pipeline to be in the national interest of the United States; and
(4) Urge the United States Secretary of State to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project to ensure America's oil independence, improve our national security, reduce the cost of gasoline, create new jobs, and strengthen ties between the United States and Canada; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for the President of the United States, the President Pro Tem of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.
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