WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), joined 43 other members of Congress today in urging President Trump to take action to expedite construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. In November, a federal judge issued a decision that blocked construction of the pipeline.
“The Keystone XL pipeline will bring nearly 6600 high paying jobs in the near-term and nearly $4 billion in new capital investment next year alone,” states the members’ letter. “[O]ne of your first actions as President was to expedite the approval and construction of the Keystone XL pipeline across six western and rural states. While we sincerely appreciate your strong leadership on this issue, we write now to encourage that leadership and attention to continue so that this important infrastructure project can become a reality.”
Joining Cassidy in sending the letter are Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Enzi (R-WY), John Barrasso (R-WY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), James Lankford (R-OK), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Thune (R-SD) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Representatives Greg Gianforte (R-MT), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve King (R-IA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Rob Bishop (R-UT), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Scott Tipton (R-CO), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Ron Estes (R-KS), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Alex Mooney (R-WV), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Liz Cheney (R-WY), Paul Cook (R-CA), Randy Weber (R-TX), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Chris Stewart (R-UT), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa).
The full text of the members’ letter is below.
Dear Mr. President,
We thank you for your prioritization of job creation and energy dominance in America. Towards that end, one of your first actions as President was to expedite the approval and construction of the Keystone XL pipeline across six western and rural states. While we sincerely appreciate your strong leadership on this issue, we write now to encourage that leadership and attention to continue so that this important infrastructure project can become a reality.
A recent harmful federal court decision in Montana has brought real and immediate consequences, halting critical preconstruction activities and invalidating the analysis that underlies the approval issued by your Administration. The ruling also called for more lengthy environmental review. This comes despite extensive review by the previous Administration saying the pipeline will have minimal environmental impact and generate significant economic benefits. As such, we urge you to take any appropriate action necessary to move construction forward.
The Keystone XL pipeline will bring nearly 6600 high paying jobs in the near-term and nearly $4 billion in new capital investment next year alone. In fact, pre-construction activities enjoined by the recent federal court decision are leaving nearly 700 jobs for hardworking Americans in the balance. While we believe that it is important to conduct appropriate environmental reviews, we also believe that further review will not contribute to the existing body of science that already supports pipeline construction and instead will have a significant impact on our rural communities.
We respectfully urge you to take every practicable step to get this project over the finish line and workers back on the construction sites. We thank you for your attention to this matter and your passion for rural America.
Respectfully,