Letter to President Obama

Letter

U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre recently sent a letter to the President expressing support for the Keystone XL pipeline project.

Congressman McIntyre stated, "The Keystone pipeline project is in our national and economic interest. It will create jobs, help us become more energy independent, and help bring down gas prices. Let's get this project going so we can get America going!"

The text of the letter that McIntyre sent to the President reads as follows:

Dear Mr. President:

I write to register my support for a reversal of your January 18th decision regarding the Keystone XL pipeline and ask that you consider the energy security and economic benefits of the project when considering TransCanada's reapplication for permit.

As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, I recognize how vital it is that the United States move away from its reliance on the Middle East for oil and move towards a path to greater energy independence. As you referenced in your most recent State of the Union Address, our nation must employ an across the board energy strategy to achieve this result. This requires making investments in promising renewable energy technologies that exhibit the potential for near term results, like second and third generation biofuels that source feedstocks that do not compete with the food supply. Additionally, this calls for investments in existing fossil fuel resources to secure the benefit of the energy these resources provide for our nation.

Political instability in the Middle East, increasing competition for energy from developing economies in China and India, and the scarcity of our own domestic supply of oil are three key concerns when considering our nation's energy security. The Keystone XL project will partially address each of those concerns by providing the United States with a reliable source of energy from Canada, our longest and most trusted ally.

In addition to energy security, the Keystone Pipeline project can help in addressing the most pressing problems facing our country: unemployment and a lagging economy. For the United States to continue to build on the modest momentum in the economic turnaround, we cannot afford to reject this project that analysts estimate could provide as many as 20,000 jobs for Americans looking for work. The Keystone XL pipeline will create near term jobs in the construction industry to build the pipeline and will create long term jobs in the energy sector to operate and maintain the pipeline.

In order for our Nation to achieve the goals of energy independence and economic revitalization, investments need to be made to provide affordable and reliable energy to American consumers and industry. For this reason, the Keystone XL pipeline project deserves your full support. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

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