Letter to President Obama urging Keystone approval

Dear Mr. President:

The undersigned organizations urge you to approve the Keystone XL pipeline as soon as possible. With your approval, this shovel-ready project will provide 20,000 jobs in construction and manufacturing in the next two years, and add tens of thousands of additional jobs throughout the economy in other sectors including service, retail and distribution. With our nation’s stubbornly high unemployment, it would be irresponsible to let such good-paying jobs slip away.

The Keystone XL pipeline has been under review for more than three years. The August 26, 2011 final EIS found that the project will have “limited adverse environmental impacts” during construction and operation. Additionally, the document concluded that the pipeline “would have a degree of safety greater than any typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system under current regulations.” The State Department should be commended for its thorough and comprehensive environmental assessment, and for conducting more than 100 public meetings on the project, including nine hearings along the proposed pipeline route and in Washington, DC last summer.

The State Department’s announcement that it was delaying a decision on Keystone XL cited a need to study an alternative route in Nebraska around the Sandhills region. The federal payroll tax legislation recently passed with strong bipartisan support and signed into law allows the State Department and Nebraska as much time as necessary to identify and review a new route, while allowing construction to begin elsewhere along the pipeline route.

The Keystone XL pipeline will also greatly enhance America’s energy security. With the current situation in the Middle East, and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continuing to rise, approving this pipeline is the right energy and national security policy for America. Canada is already our largest supplier of imported oil – almost 2.4 million barrels per day, or one fourth of our imports. With this proposed pipeline, our crude imports from Canada could reach 4 million barrels a day by 2020, twice what we currently import from the Persian Gulf. Enhancing our energy partnership with Canada will strengthen America’s energy future.

In addition, studies show that fully utilizing Canada’s oil sands crude, including the necessary pipeline infrastructure, can generate more than 500,000 new U.S. jobs and $775 billion in GDP by 2035. Today there are already at least 2,400 American companies in 49 states supporting the development of oil sands by either providing supplies and services in Canada or for pipeline and refinery projects here in the U.S. In addition, it’s important to note that for every dollar we spend on Canadian products, including oil, Canadians return up to 90 cents through purchases of U.S. goods and services.

Mr. President, the significant job creation, economic growth, energy security and national security benefits of this project make clear it is in the national interest. We strongly urge you to act swiftly to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

Respectfully,

Alaska Oil and Gas Association
American Chemistry Council
American Concrete Pressure Pipe Association
American Council of Engineering Companies of Iowa
American Exploration & Production Council
American Foundry Society
American Highway Users Alliance
American Petroleum Institute
American Rental Association
Americans for Tax Reform
Arkansas Environmental Federation
Arkansas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association
Arkansas Oil Marketers Association
Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas
Associated Equipment Distributors
Associated Food and Petroleum Dealers of Michigan
Associated General Contractors of Minnesota
Associated General Contractors of Missouri
Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin
Associated Industries of Florida
Associated Industries of Missouri
Association of Oil Pipelines
Business Roundtable
Chemical Industry Council of Illinois
Consumer Energy Alliance
Foundry Association of Michigan
Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity
Hispanic Leadership Fund
Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers
Illinois Association of Convenience Stores
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Manufactures Association
Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association
Illinois Trucking Association
Independent Petroleum Association of America
Indiana Cast Metals Association
Industrial Supply Association
International Foodservice Distributors Association
International Warehouse Logistics Association
Iowa Engineering Society
Iowa Good Roads Association
Iowa Motor Truck Association
Kansas Chamber of Commerce
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
Michigan Association of Convenience Stores
Michigan Manufacturers Association
Michigan Petroleum Association
Michigan Railroads Association
Michigan Trucking Association
Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association of Oklahoma
Mid-West Truckers Association
Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
Montana Petroleum Association
NAHAD – The Association for Hose & Accessories Distribution
National Association of Convenience Stores
National Association of Manufacturers
National Electrical Contractors Association
National Federation of Independent Business
National Federation of Independent Business/Illinois
National Petrochemical & Refiners Association
National Roofing Contractors Association
National Taxpayers Union
Natural Gas Supply Association
New England Fuel Institute
New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
North American Equipment Dealers Association
North Carolina Chamber of Commerce
North Carolina Petroleum and Convenience Marketers
North Dakota Petroleum Council
Ohio Association of Convenience Stores
Ohio Cast Metals Association
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
Ohio Chemistry Technology Council
Ohio Council of Retail Merchants
Ohio Oil and Gas Association
Ohio Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce
Pennsylvania Foundry Association
Petroleum Association of Wyoming
Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association
Petroleum Marketers Association of America
Portland Cement Association
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
SouthWestern Equipment Dealers Association
Southwestern Illinois Employers Association
Texas Cast Metals Association
Texas Oil & Gas Association
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
The FPDA Motion & Control Network
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Oil & Gas Association
U.S. Oil & Gas Association AL/MS Division
West Virginia Chamber of Commerce
West Virginia Manufacturers Association
West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association
Western States Petroleum Association
Will County (IL) Center for Economic Development
Wisconsin Association of General Contractors
Wisconsin Cast Metals Association
Wisconsin Engine Manufacturers & Distributors Alliance
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association

Copy of the Letter