WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and ten other Senate Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Grandholm about the now outstanding Keystone XL Pipeline job loss report that was due to Congress on February 13, 2022.
Of the letter, Senator Lummis said, “When President Biden revoked the permit for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, we knew that the job loss would be significant. The pipeline was expected to provide 11,000 high-paying jobs, and up to 60,000 other jobs over the course of its use and construction. The Biden administration has continually sacrificed America’s energy independence and the wellbeing of the people of Wyoming and our energy industry while bowing to extreme environmentalists, and we have a right to know the true cost these actions are having on our economy.”
In June 2021, Senator Lummis and ten of her Senate Republican colleagues introduced the Defending Keystone Jobs Act, which would require the Biden administration to submit a report to Congress on the number of jobs lost as a direct or indirect result of the Biden administration’s move to cancel construction of the Keystone XL pipeline within 90 days of enactment. A modified version of the legislation became law as part of the bipartisan American Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
In the letter, the senators wrote, “The closure [of the Keystone XL Pipeline] erased thousands of real, high-paying jobs and approximately $800 million in wages. Significant prospective spending for rural communities and small businesses, as well as tax revenue for local schools and public safety, disappeared with the stroke of a pen. President Biden’s Executive Order destroyed numerous jobs and changed countless lives. It also strained relationships with Canada and put the United States at a strategic disadvantage when it comes to energy security for us and our allies. Knowing the full impact of the President’s actions is important to the American people.”
Senator Lummis sent the letter with Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Barrasso (R-WY), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Hoeven (R-ND), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Jim Risch (R-ID).
Click here to view the letter.
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