S.Amdt. 11

SA 11. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2 proposed by Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Hoeven, Mr.
Barrasso, Mr. Risch, Mr. Lee, Mr. Flake, Mr. Daines, Mr. Manchin, Mr.
Cassidy, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Portman, Mr. Alexander, and Mrs. Capito) to
the bill S. 1, to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline; which was ordered
to lie on the table; as follows:

After section 2, insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) rural communities are critical to the food supply and
recreation opportunities of the United States;
(2) farming, fishing, forestry, and recreation in the rural
communities of the United States are particularly vulnerable
to changes in climate;
(3) the overwhelming majority of the scientific community
agrees that global warming is real and predominantly
attributable to human activity;
(4) climate change is already having devastating impacts to
the rural communities of the United States;
(5) winter snow pack is decreasing, impacting agricultural
producers who depend on irrigation;
(6) ocean acidity levels are increasing and ocean water
temperatures are rising, impacting coastal fishermen; and
(7) the fire season in the Western United States is growing
longer, impacting loggers and mill owners.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) climate change is real;
(2) the rural communities of the United States are and will
be significantly impacted by climate change; and
(3) the United States should make it a priority to protect
the rural communities and natural resources from the worst
impacts of climate change.
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