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Obama Administration Rejects the
Keystone XL Pipeline
On Wednesday, the State Department announced it has rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline plan. The decision came ahead of the Feb. 21st deadline given to the Obama Administration to make a decision on the pipelinee as part of the deal to extend the payroll tax holiday brokered at the end of last year. The extension of the Keystone XL Pipeline has been a battle in Washington as Republicans make the case for the Keystone Pipeline's potential to stimulate American job creation amidst Democrat's claims that the pipeline would create environmental concerns.
The $13 billion Keystone XL Pipeline is a 1,661 mile crude oil pipeline that would carry oil from Canada to U.S. refineries along the Gulf Coast. You can read more details about the project on the TransCanada website here.
Republicans argue the pipeline would create thousands of American jobs, spur economic development and allow for better access to energy resources.
In a recent Heritage Foundation paper, Nicolas Loris explains the economic case for the Keystone Pipeline, "The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline would deliver an additional 700,000 to 830,000 barrels of oil per day to the U.S. from Canada, the U.S.'s largest supplier of oil. Not only is the delay preventing additional imports from Canada, it is also preventing the creation of thousands of private-sector jobs. Building the pipeline would directly create 20,000 truly shovel-ready jobs; the Canadian Energy Research Institute estimates that current pipeline operations and the addition of the Keystone XL pipeline would create 179,000 American jobs by 2035."
Republicans have vowed to pursue alternative plans to move the pipeline forward-including a bill from Sen. Hoeven (R-ND) that would remove control from the White House and allow for Congressional approval of the project.
We will continue to bring you more information as the story develops.
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