Republicans Hold Forum Regarding Pipeline Decision
National Republican leaders conducted a forum to voice their displeasure with President Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The forum, titled “President Biden’s Cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline and American Jobs,” was hosted by Rep. David B. McKinley, R-W.Vir., Republican leader for the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“When a project is canceled, it creates a loss for banks, bond holders and other sources of funding. And unfortunately, bond holders are often pension funds,” McKinley said during the forum. “Is this Biden’s effort to stop pipelines? Or is it a more sinister approach to discourage Wall Street and investors from getting involved in funding fossil fuel projects and pipelines altogether?”
House Energy and Commerce Committee member Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., noted, “When President Biden revoked the Presidential Permit for Keystone XL earlier this year, he put thousands out of work and inflicted substantial damage to countless communities along the route of the pipeline. It’s not just those that work directly on the pipeline. It’s lost income for waiters in local restaurants. It’s lost jobs for contractors slated to service the project. It’s lost business for the mom-and-pop stores in nearly every small town along the pipeline. And it’s lost revenue for local governments that were slated to receive millions in taxes due to the project.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a lawsuit involving 21 states against Biden’s decision.
During the forum, Knudsen noted the pipeline was scheduled to run through six mostly rural counties in Montana including poverty areas.
Knudsen said the cancellation results in a loss of $60 million in tax revenue for these counties. It was going to amount for about 117 percent of McCone County’s tax base.
