WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today rebuked Republican claims that the Keystone XL amendment process has been open and inclusive.

“My Republican colleagues are claiming the Keystone XL amendment process has been inclusive; however, they fail to mention there are many, many Democratic amendments that our members have filed and would like to see a vote on,” said Sen. Menendez. “I have an amendment that ensures the companies that spill pay the bill – and without a vote on something as simple as that, I don’t see how this process has been open."

The Menendez-Gillibrand amendment filed to the Keystone XL Pipeline bill would hold big oil companies like TransCanada accountable for any potential oil spills by lifting the current cap on liabilities companies face. Federal law currently protects oil companies by limiting their spill liabilities – making them responsible for only up to $134 million in damages for offshore oil spills, and $350 million for spills that occur onshore. (Download full amendment text here.)

In addition to the oil spill liability amendment, Senator Menendez filed the following amendments to the Keystone XL pipeline bill:

  • Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Version 1. This amendment ends tax subsidies for the five largest oil companies, which are some of the most profitable corporations in the world. The savings from the bill would go to reducing the deficit. (Download full amendment text here.)
  • Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Version 2. This amendment also ends tax subsidies for the five largest oil companies, which are some of the most profitable corporations in the world. The savings from the bill would go to supporting tax incentives for clean, renewable sources of energy including wind and solar. (Download full amendment text here.)
  • Infrastructure Investment Version 1. This amendment expresses the Sense of the Congress that increased federal infrastructure investment would create millions of jobs, help businesses grow, reduce traffic congestion, and save lives. (Download full amendment text here.)
  • Infrastructure Investment Version 2. This amendment also expresses the Sense of the Congress that increased federal infrastructure investment is essential to the U.S. economy and would create jobs – and additionally includes several statistics to prove these points. (Download full amendment text here.)
  • U.S. Canada Emissions goals. This amendment expresses the Sense of the Congress that the governments of the U.S. and Canada should continue working toward achieving their shared emission reduction goals (which is approximately 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020), and that the government of Canada should join the U.S. goal of reducing emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. (Download full amendment text here.)

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