VIDEO: Kaine Delivers Speech on Senate Floor in Opposition to Amendment Regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Video of Kaine’s remarks is available here
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate in opposition to a proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would exempt the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from normal permitting processes, eliminate judicial review of key elements of the project, and strip jurisdiction over any future litigation regarding the MVP away from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit:
“Now, never in the history of this body has Congress gone into the middle of a case, and because a corporation was not happy with the rulings of the court, stripped the case away from that court and give it to another court,” he said. “…Yes, the Fourth Circuit has rendered some rulings in this case that the pipeline operator doesn't like. I used to lose cases in the Fourth Circuit. I wasn't always happy with them. But the people I represented, if you lose a case, you appeal. You don't rewrite the federal jurisdictional code to say this court can no longer hear the case in the middle of the case. If we go down this path on this project, I can see it opening a door we will not want to open—a door that can even lead to corruption.”
“…I would urge those pushing it: do permitting reform, but don't exempt a project in my state from the permits. Don't exempt it from judicial review. Don't strip jurisdiction away from my hometown court and give it to another court. I was never consulted about this. My constituents feel very, very passionately. Their land is being taken for this. The only way you build pipelines is to take people's land, and this is 100 miles in Virginia of people's land being taken, and this body should not greenlight a project and exempt it from permitting rules in a bill that we are saying is designed to improve permitting,” he continued.
Senator Kaine first expressed his opposition to similar language to exempt the MVP from normal permitting rules in September.
Video of Kaine’s remarks is available here.
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