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Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting a Bill To Stimulate Construction of Coal Pipelines

March 20, 1962

Dear Mr._____________:

I am transmitting for the consideration of the Congress a draft bill to facilitate the construction of pipelines to transport coal slurry in interstate commerce. The proposed legislation grants the right of eminent domain to the builders of any carrier of coal by pipeline which is subject to any of the provisions of Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act and which the Secretary of the Interior has found to be required by public convenience and necessity.

The coal resources of our Nation constitute one of our greatest assets. They launched our industrial development and they provide a great reservoir of energy. They can be a stimulus to our economic growth.

In recent years, however, many of our coal mine communities have suffered from reduced operations flowing from the decline in coal consumption. This new method of transportation offers possibilities for renewed vigor and hope for increased economic strength for the coal industry. If costs can be lowered in this fashion, all segments of the economy will benefit.

I understand that plans have already been made for a pipeline that will carry coal from the West Virginia coal fields to the Eastern seaboard. However, unless a right of way can be obtained, these plans will be postponed and may ultimately have to be discontinued. The legislation will permit the prompt implementation of those plans.

Pipeline transportation of coal may also play an important role in the economies of areas other than West Virginia. It is being studied in the Rocky Mountain region for use in West Coast markets. Already coal is being transported by a 100-mile long pipeline in Ohio. The technical problems are being overcome; the economics of operation are known; private enterprise stands ready to invest the necessary capital. The power to acquire the right of way is needed. This legislation will grant to the carrier of coal by pipeline the same privilege of eminent domain that the carrier of natural gas already has.

I urge that favorable and prompt consideration be given to this legislation.

Sincerely,

JOHN F. KENNEDY

Note: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The draft bill was also released by the White House on the same day.

John F. Kennedy, Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting a Bill To Stimulate Construction of Coal Pipelines Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/236201

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