Senators Working For Keystone Construction
The two U.S. senators from Montana continue to seek ways to restart work on the Keystone XL Pipeline. President Biden canceled the presidential permit for the pipeline on his first day in office.
Friday, March 5, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced an amendment to the COVID-19 relief bills that would allow construction of the pipeline to move forward with a presidential permit. “When I disagree with my party, I tell them the truth, and the truth is that the jobs and tax revenue Keystone will create would provide a critical boost to the folks that live and work in rural Montana,” Tester said in a press release. “This amendment would reverse President Biden’s decision and take the decision- making on the pipeline away from the folks who canceled it. I’ll continue working with Republicans, Democrats and all interested stakeholders to move this project forward.”
The amendment received bipartisan support with 52 senators voting in favor, but it didn’t receive the necessary 60 votes to be approved.
“We’re going to keep pushing for it,” Roy Loewenstein, press secretary of Tester, said Monday, March 8. “We will look for other options.”
He said that Tester has signed on for the bill by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., to authorize the continued construction of the pipeline. U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., also introduced the legislation.
“Americans are already struggling to make ends meet and keep food on the table because of the pandemic. Yet with the stroke of a pen, President Biden killed thousands of energy and union jobs, eliminated tax revenue for impoverished communities, raised energy costs for Americans, and put our national security and energy independence at risk,” Daines said in a press release. “We must reverse Biden’s disastrous decision and send a clear message that supporting American workers is more important than supporting Saudi Arabia and allowing radical environmentalists to cash in on campaign promises.”
The project is expected to provide approximately 11,000 direct high-paying jobs and up to 60,000 indirect and direct jobs, generate tax revenue and increase renewable-energy demand.
