Landrieu Pushes Kerry for Approval of Keystone XL Pipeline

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today 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 Programs (SFOPS). Last month, the U.S. State Department released its final Environmental Impact Statement, which concluded that the construction of the pipeline would have no significant impact on the environment.

"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 Sen. 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."

Sen. 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."

Sen. Landrieu is a long-time supporter of the Keystone XL Pipeline. In recent months, Sen. 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, Sens. Landrieu and Hoeven introduced a bipartisan resolution in the U.S. 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 the Fall of 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, Sen. Landrieu and 53 Senate colleagues sent a letter to President Barack Obama in support of construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The cutting edge $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline will carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day to U.S. refineries. That includes oil from Alberta, Canada, in addition to 100,000 barrels per day of crude from the U.S. Bakken region in North Dakota and Montana. In the construction phase, it will create more than 40,000 jobs, according to the U.S. State Department. This means more revenues for struggling local economies, as well as for the federal government to help get on top of our deficit and debt.

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