Lost Opportunity Tour of the Pipeline Route Concludes in Steele City, NE Today
CALGARY – As the Keystone XL Pipeline Lost Opportunity Tour ends in Steele City, Nebraska today, U.S. Chamber Energy Institute President and CEO Karen Harbert marked the sixth anniversary of TransCanada’s first application to build the pipeline from Canada, where she has been meeting with industry leaders:
“For the past week, our team at the Energy Institute has been traveling the length of the Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. and meeting with community leaders, ranchers, and business owners who have been waiting six long years for the pipeline to be built.
“The stories we’ve heard have only strengthened our resolve to push the Obama Administration to approve the pipeline. We visited a town in Montana that has been forced to delay construction of a new elementary school that was to be paid for in part by revenue from the pipeline. We met with ranchers who will be welcoming the pipeline on their property, but will be continuing their operations on reclaimed land. We saw firsthand the opportunities for small businesses, restaurants, hotels and workers throughout the communities near the pipeline. Today, we’re wrapping our tour up in Steele City, Nebraska, where a new pumping station would be built that will bring opportunities to that community.
“Of course, the benefits of Keystone XL will be felt far beyond the pipeline route itself. By supplanting oil from unfriendly nations with oil from Canada, America will be improving its national security. The daily supply of oil from Keystone will be used to fuel greater investment in our economy, creating jobs and much needed revenue at all levels of government.
“Unfortunately, this Administration’s decision making process has been guided by politics. No infrastructure project should be forced to wait this long simply to receive an answer—especially after receiving multiple favorable reviews by the permitting agency.
“So once again, we call on the Obama Administration to listen to its own State Department and the overwhelming majority of Americans, and approve the Keystone XL pipeline. America has waited long enough.”
The mission of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy is to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders, and the American public behind a common sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous, and clean. Through policy development, education, and advocacy, the Institute is building support for meaningful action at the local, state, national, and international levels.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.