On the House Floor: Fedorchak urges support for legislation to streamline cross-border permitting 

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) spoke on the House Floor in support of H.R. 3062, the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act. Her legislation enhances North American energy collaboration by streamlining the permitting process for cross-border oil and gas and electricity projects. Fedorchak highlighted the need for a clear, predictable process that delivers long-term certainty to energy developers. 

Below are her remarks, edited for clarity:    

I rise today in strong support of my bill, the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act, and in strong opposition to what my colleague from New Jersey just said about this bill—much of which is just simply not true. 

Energy is the foundation of everything we do.   

It powers our homes, fuels our farms, and drives our economy.  

If we want to stay a global leader, we must build the pipelines and power lines that move energy from where it is produced to where it is needed. 

That’s much more challenging than it needs to be under current law in our country.  

And I know many of my colleagues across the aisle want to change that through permitting reform. 

My legislation begins to address that and is a step in the right direction. 

This bill is about strengthening American energy security, protecting good-paying jobs, and restoring common sense to a process bogged down by bureaucratic delays and partisan politics.  

For far too long, energy developers have faced an outdated and unpredictable permitting process that has delayed, and even canceled, critical infrastructure projects...  

Costing taxpayers millions of dollars and weakening American energy security. 

Right now, if you want to build a pipeline or a power transmission line between the U.S. and Canada or the U.S. and Mexico...  

You’re stuck navigating a patchwork of executive orders, undefined agency processes, and shifting political winds.     

That is no way to build long-term energy infrastructure in our country.   

We need a cross-border permitting process that is transparent, predictable, and durable—a process that can’t be undone with the stroke of a pen. 

The Keystone XL pipeline should have been a wake-up call.  

It would have carried 800,000 barrels of oil each day from Canada to refineries in the Midwest and Texas. 

It would have meant real opportunity for North Dakota communities—more jobs, more tax revenue, and more energy produced for the entire nation. 

After a decade of delays, protests, and litigation, Keystone XL was finally approved in 2017 by President Trump.  

But on day one of the Biden administration, that permit was canceled. 

Not because the project wasn’t needed, not because it wasn’t safe, but to appease radical activists.  

With that single decision, the Biden administration cost the U.S. more than $3 billion in GDP and thousands of jobs, including many in my state of North Dakota.     

This uncertainty has created a chilling effect on investment in the infrastructure we desperately need for American energy dominance.  

That’s why I introduced the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act. 

This legislation will help fix this problem.  

This bill requires Congress to approve the reversal of a cross-border project—no more unilateral decisions based on politics.   

This bill would also replace the outdated presidential permitting process with a clear, statutory framework: the Certificate of Crossing... 

This process will be overseen by FERC for oil and gas projects, and by the Department of Energy for electricity.   

It establishes firm timelines for reviewing applications and puts subject-matter experts, not politicians, in charge of decisions. 

By creating a consistent statutory framework that protects all existing requirements and environmental reviews, we can provide the regulatory certainty energy developers need to invest, hire, and build. 

And most importantly, this strengthens America’s role as a global energy leader.    

I urge my colleagues to support this bill and stand with American energy dominance.  

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 

I yield back.  

CLICK HERE to watch the full speech.    

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