CEA Applauds Passage of Keystone XL Legislation
Bill Sets Clear and Responsible Schedule for Approving Critical Pipeline Project
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation that would set a firm November 1, 2011, deadline for the White House to approve or deny the President Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and entitled the North American Made Energy Security Act (H.R. 1938), passed on a bipartisan basis of 249-147, with one member voting present.
The 1,700-mile proposed pipeline would deliver 700,000 barrels of U.S. and Canadian crude oil per day to refineries in Texas. Keystone XL received approval from Canada’s National Energy Board in 2010, but the project also requires a Presidential Permit from the U.S. Department of State because it crosses an international border.
In June, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) delivered more than 62,000 public comments supporting the project to the U.S. Department of State, all of which came from people living in the six states through which the proposed pipeline will travel: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
In response to the passage of H.R. 1938, CEA executive vice president Michael Whatley released the following statement:
“Approving the Keystone XL pipeline is one of the most important actions the Administration can take to boost a weak economy and ensure stable energy supplies for years to come. The project will directly create 20,000 high-wage jobs and generate more than $20 billion in economic growth, as well as reduce gasoline and diesel prices nationwide and significantly reduce our dependence on oil from unstable regimes that do not share our national values. Unfortunately, approval for the Keystone XL project been delayed for more than 1,000 days, even though typical cross-border pipelines are approved within two years. CEA applauds Congressman Terry’s legislation, as well as his call for a firm schedule for approving this project that is so necessary to America’s energy security.”
