Veterans Benefits Information

A House Energy and Commerce Committee (HECC) hearing concerning the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline proposal is keeping the issue – and the hopes of The American Legion that the pipeline will be built – alive. American Legion Legislative Deputy Director Dean Stoline attended the Jan. 25 session and reported that arguments presented at the hearing, American Jobs Now: A Legislative Hearing on the North American Energy Access Act, fell along familiar lines. Proponents expressed opposition to President Obama’s recent denial of permission to build the pipeline from the “oil sands” of Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Opponents, on the other hand, said they continue to side with Obama. In explaining the background of the issue, Stoline said, “TransCanada submitted its Keystone XL Pipeline application to the State Department in September 2008. In order to speed a decision on the application, Congress, in the recently considered Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, included a provision directing the president to approve the pipeline project within 60 days unless the president determined that it was not in the national interest. On Jan. 18, the U.S. State Department, which is in charge of the approval process, issued a recommendation to the president that, indeed, the pipeline did not serve the national interest. President Obama agreed with the findings and rejected the application.” Opponents of the proposed pipeline are concerned about the possible environmental impact of nation-spanning construction and are urging more study before approval. They say that rushing to build the pipeline may cause regrettable and irreparable harm. Proponents of the project, on the other hand, echo The American Legion’s recently expressed position that blocking the Keystone project is not in the best interest of job creation and national security. Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., introduced the North American Energy Access Act (H.R. 3548) last December and sits on the HECC. “This isn’t over,” he said. “We’re working towards restarting this project.” In his bill, Terry proposes to transfer pipeline application approval authority from the State Department to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), while allowing for a route modification to be performed by the state of Nebraska. Under Terry’s proposed legislation, FERC would then have 30 days to decide whether or not to grant the pipeline construction permit and 30 days to rule on the Nebraska re-routing plan. The bill mandates that the permit would be automatically approved if the FERC did not take action within those time periods. In hearing testimony, State Department Assistant Secretary Kerry-Ann Jones said the proposed legislation’s narrow time constraints and automatic mandates prevent an informed decision on the project. She said the bill also appears to override foreign policy and national security considerations because it cuts the rightful agency, the State Department, out of a decision involving a cross-border (Canada-U.S.) permit. Jeff C. Wright, FERC’s director of the office of energy projects, echoed those concerns, calling the proposed legislation “unclear” while essentially forcing an approval of the project.

With the Pentagon’s release of a five-year budget plan that cuts $260 billion in defense spending, The American Legion is pressing Congress to find other ways by which to reduce the country’s staggering $15.2 trillion debt.

Over the next decade, defense spending must be cut by $450 billion as required by the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last August.

"Congress failed to act last year when the super committee failed to cut more than a trillion dollars from federal budgets," American Legion National Commander Fang A. Wong said. "Our congressional leaders must find the courage to act this year before our national security pays the price with further cuts to defense spending."

Wong noted that President Obama spoke of his commitment to "the finest military in the world" during his State of the Union speech. "But how long can America’s military remain the finest in the world if we keep bleeding its resources and capabilities?" Wong questioned. "We are seeing a shift in the military’s strategic focus from the Middle East to Asia and the Pacific. But what kind of tactical strength will we have to back it up?"

Last October, the 2.4-million member Legion passed a resolution that called upon Congress and the White House "to cease all efforts to reduce the defense budget from its current level."

In its resolution, The American Legion noted that national security spending "did not create the current budget crisis, and further cuts to national defense will not solve it," and that Department of Defense leadership "has continually warned that significant reductions in defense spending pose serious risks to the future security of the United States."

The Legion resolution pointed out that DoD has virtually no research and development for next-generation weapons systems, and its percentage of total federal spending is the lowest since pre-World War II budgets.

If sequestration takes effect next January, DoD will automatically have to cut an additional $540 billion from spending over the next decade.

"Congress needs to halt this fiscal bludgeoning that will only put our men and women in uniform at greater risk when they respond to outside threats – and those threats will most certainly arise," Wong said. "A trillion dollars in savings might make a dent in our federal deficit, but it will gut our military and turn it into something that betrays the trust of our troops."

The budget cuts will also have a serious impact on employment. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has warned that a $1 trillion cut to defense spending could increase the country’s unemployment rate by 1 percent – more than a million jobs.

"Washington still has time to make this right," Wong said. "It needs to take another look at non-discretionary spending and leave the DoD budget alone. After all, what good are entitlements if we can’t defend our own country?"