Republican senators call on Obama to approve Keystone XL pipeline

All 45 Republican senators in a letter this week called on President Obama to approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The senators’ letter comes in response to the State Department’s release of the fifth and final environmental impact statement on the Keystone XL pipeline that found the project would have no significant impact on the environment, clearing the way for approval of the project.

The $7 billion, 1,700-mile, high-tech Keystone XL pipeline will carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day to U.S. refineries, including oil from Alberta, Canada, in addition to 100,000 barrels per day of light, sweet crude from the Bakken region in North Dakota and Montana. During the construction phase, the project will create 42,000 jobs, according to the U.S. State Department.

“Rejecting the Keystone pipeline will cost thousands of American jobs and prevent our country from accessing a large supply of North American energy,” the senators wrote. “Independent studies have demonstrated the pipeline’s construction will create thousands of jobs directly and indirectly.

“Further, the pipeline will allow U.S. access to 800,000 barrels of Canadian oil daily from a stable and dependable economic partner, which helps us to diversify our supply and offset our dependence on the Middle East and other more volatile oil producing countries,” the senators added.