Noem Highlights Bipartisan Support for Keystone XL Project

Press Release

Representative Kristi Noem (R-SD) highlighted the strong bipartisan support the Keystone XL project has received from Members of Congress and groups on both sides of the aisle as the issues once again comes before the House as part of an end-of-the year package.

"This project will create 20,000 new American jobs and many more indirectly. With the strong bipartisan support this project has received, along with the obvious job creation benefits, there no is reason why Washington should stand in the way of making this project a reality," said Noem.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of State extended the deadline for federal agencies to decide if the pipeline is in the national interest, and in November 2011, President Obama announced his intention to postpone the decision until 2013 -- after the 2012 Presidential Election. The House of Representatives is preparing legislative language that would expedite a decision within 60 days.

The Keystone XL energy project has strong bipartisan, bicameral support:

47 House Democrats voted to require the administration to quickly act on the Keystone XL project, helping to pass the North American-Made Energy Security Act (H.R. 1938).

Nearly two dozen House Democrats wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to approve the Keystone XL project, saying it will "create 20,000 direct jobs, spur the creation of 118,000 spin-off jobs." The Democrats note that several environmental reviews show "the Keystone XL Pipeline will have no significant impact on the environment."

A bipartisan group of 14 Senators wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in support of the Keystone project. The Senators said Keystone XL would "provide thousands of high-quality jobs for Americans and invest billions of private sector dollars in our nation's economy."

Both of Montana's Democratic Senators support the Keystone energy project, including Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) who said, "We need to put Montanans back to work and cannot afford further delays to the Keystone XL pipeline."

"The Keystone pipeline will create Montana jobs," said Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), "And it should not have to wait 14 months for an up-or-down decision…"

"I support the Keystone XL project," said Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR). "You want to talk about shovel-ready projects, that's one that's shovel-ready," reported Politico.

"I think the president's wrong on this," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) who is "inclined to vote for the GOP's version of the payroll tax cut measure" because he supports both the payroll tax break extension and the Keystone XL jobs project, according to Politico.

"I probably would vote to accept the deal," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

"Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) said he's not swayed by Obama's veiled veto pledge," says Politico. "The Keystone is awfully important," he said. The article highlights several other Democrats who support both the payroll tax break and the energy project.

"[T]he privately-financed Keystone XL pipeline project is projected to create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs in construction and manufacturing," says the AFL-CIO. Organized labor, among Democrats' key supporters, says "workers from all over the United States would benefit from the project."

Source: Speaker.gov

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