The Honorable Steve Daines
United States Senate
320 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Kelly Armstrong
United States House of Representatives
1740 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Senator Daines and Representative Armstrong,
On behalf of the National Taxpayers Union, the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, I write to express our support for your legislation, the “Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act.” Your important legislation prioritizes American energy workers by allowing them to get back on the job and continue building the Keystone XL pipeline. We strongly believe this bill will help grow the American economy and we call for its swift passage.
As you know, the Keystone XL pipeline would bring hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil from Canada down through the midwest for storage. Contrary to claims by radical anti-fossil fuel interests that the pipeline would hurt our environment, this project has been in the works for over a decade and has cleared numerous environmental and regulatory hurdles. In fact, a report by the State Department under former-President Obama found that the pipeline would not have a major impact on greenhouse gas emissions. This project is also a top priority for the Canadian government and would strengthen our diplomatic and trading relations with our neighbors to the north.
Not only is the pipeline important for North American energy independence, but it would also provide a boost to our economy. According to the Keystone XL website, the pipeline would create about 11,000 U.S. jobs in 2021, support up to 60,000 indirect and direct jobs, and generate $1.6 billion in gross wages. These jobs and wages would also provide much-needed tax revenues for state and local governments to plug budget deficits stemming from the pandemic.
Given the strong economic benefits of the pipeline - particularly during the ongoing economic crisis - it makes little sense for President Biden to terminate this project, and as a result, effectively fire thousands of workers in high-paying jobs. Thankfully, your legislation reverses the president's misguided decision. If enacted, the “Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act” would immediately restart construction and put Americans back to work. We strongly disagree with the administration’s decision to use the power of the federal government to end projects it believes are politically unsavory.
We are proud to support your legislation and look forward to working with you to ensure it gets enacted so Americans can get back to work.
Sincerely,
Thomas Aiello
Policy and Government Affairs Manager