Senator Landrieu pushes Keystone XL approval

US Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., urged Secretary of State John Kerry to approve the Keystone XL pipeline during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programmes (SFOPS). Last month, the US State Department released its final Environmental Impact Statement, which concluded that the construction of the pipeline would have no significant impact on the environment.

“Critical piece of infrastructure”

“Contrary to the scare tactics of the small minority who oppose building it, the Keystone pipeline is a critical piece of infrastructure that will safely transport the cleanest barrels of oil produced in North America,” said Senator Landrieu. “Canada is our closest, strongest trading partner and their environmental standards are among the highest in the world. A majority of the American people, particularly those I represent, support moving forward on Keystone. Considering all of this, it is hard for me to understand why there are still questions about whether building this pipeline is in our national interest.”

Landrieu continued: “I am going to stay focused, as Chair of the Energy Committee, on moving our nation forward as an energy powerhouse and that requires the proper infrastructure, whether it’s our transmission lines, our pipelines, our roads or our ports. It is important not only to our economy, but to our energy independence and our position in the world as a super power. That’s what this budget reflects.”

Long-time support for Keystone

Senator Landrieu is a long-time supporter of the Keystone XL pipeline. In recent months, Landrieu met with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and the Premier of Alberta Alison Redford to discuss the importance of building the Keystone XL pipeline to both nations. In July 2013, Landrieu and Senator John Hoeven introduced a bipartisan resolution in the US Senate expressing the sense of Congress that construction of the Keystone XL pipeline is in the best interest of the nation. The text of the resolution was also introduced by the Senators as an amendment to the Shaheen-Portman energy bill in Autumn 2013. In March 2011, joining 14 other Senators, she led a bipartisan letter to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging approval of the project. In January 2013, Landrieu and 53 Senate colleagues sent a letter to President Barack Obama in support of construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Pipeline to boost local economies and employment rates

The US$ 7 billion Keystone XL pipeline will carry 830 000 bbls/d of oil to US refineries. This includes oil from Alberta and Canada, in addition to 100 000 bbls/d of crude oil from the US Bakken region in North Dakota and Montana. During the construction phase it will create more than 40 000 jobs, according to the US State Department. This will result in more revenue for struggling local economies, as well as for the federal government to help get on top of the US deficit and debt.

Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling

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