Oil and Gas Development; Keystone XL Pipeline. This bill (H.R. 3408) would open up part of Alaska’s resource-rich Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. It would also expand lease sales for drilling to include areas off the Southern California and mid-Atlantic coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico. And it would provide for approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, assigning the permitting authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and deeming the project approved if the FERC fails to act.
The House passed H.R. 3408 on February 16, 2012 by a vote of 237 to 187 (Roll Call 71). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government should allow entrepreneurs to develop energy resources, rather than deny access to the resources.
