Approval of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project should be based on its merits, and not linked to higher taxes or more regulations, John A. Barrasso (Wyo.), John Hoeven (ND) and 22 other US Senate Republicans said in a May 23 letter to US President Barack Obama.
“We strongly urge you to immediately approve this vital project, not sentence it to death by a thousand cuts with yet more environmental review and further regulatory delay,” the senators wrote.
“You should approve the Keystone XL pipeline project on its merits alone without suddenly moving the goalposts after more than four years of review by tethering its fate to wholly unrelated and economically disastrous new regulatory policies,” they told the president.
The senators specifically raised concerns about a possible carbon tax, regulation of greenhouse gases from power plants, and a national low carbon fuel standard.
Their letter came a day after the US House passed Rep. Lee Terry’s (R-Neb.) bill to bypass the White House and congressional authorize construction of the pipeline’s final segment by 241 to 175 votes (OGJ Online, May 23, 2013).
Consumer Energy Alliance Vice-Pres. Michael Whatley applauded their action. “As their letter rightly states, American families simply can’t afford the high gas prices and job losses that a national LCFS would bring,” he said on May 23.
“Approving the Keystone XL pipeline should not come with strings attached, and I appreciate these senators’ efforts to prevent this from happening,” Whatley continued.
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