Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he and the bipartisan coalition will continue to urge President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, an operation that will channel oil from Canada to Nebraska.
Stephanie Haines/Medill
WASHINGTON—A bipartisan coalition of senators and congressmen urged President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, the fourth installment of an operation to channel oil from Canada to Nebraska, at a news conference Tuesday.
The $7 billion project proposed by TransCanada Corp. would cover 1,179 miles and carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day to U.S. refineries. According to the State Department, the pipeline’s construction will create 42,000 jobs. The State Department released a report on Jan. 31 concluding the environmental effects of the pipeline would be minimal.
The project has received widespread criticism from environmental groups and some senators who claim Obama would be betraying his commitment to combatting climate change.
Following the State Department’s report is a 90-day comment period during which agencies will scrutinize the document. Secretary of State John Kerry will make a final recommendation to Obama, who must decide by the end of the 90 days. Congressmen called on Obama to make the decision before that.
“My message to the president is pretty clear: the time is right and the time is now,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “This oil is going to be moving.”
The House passed a bill to circumvent the president’s approval for the pipeline in May. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the bill needs more support to pass in the Senate.
“At this point, he (Obama) is not making a decision,” said Hoeven. “We don’t need to get oil from the Middle East. We can work with our closest ally, Canada.”
The bicameral group is pressuring the president to decide as quickly as possible so construction can begin this summer, opening up many jobs. The State Department report predicts $3.4 billion will enter the U.S. economy upon the construction and completion of the pipeline. Fourteen schools have been erected to train pipeline laborers, said John Penn, the vice president and regional manager of the Laborers International Union of North America.
“We already have 2.6 million miles of pipeline in America,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “Some of us are wondering why it’s taking so long to build another 800 miles.”
