Washington, D.C. — Today the Obama administration is expected to announce that the Keystone XL pipeline permit will be disapproved at this time and Daniel J. Weiss, Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
President Barack Obama’s denial of the Keystone XL pipeline permit recognizes that Canadian tar sands oil—bringing pollution but relatively few American jobs while exporting the oil to China and other countries—is not the future of American energy. His insistence on knowing the impact before the pipeline is approved is the safest decision to protect Americans along its route by ensuring the pipeline won’t pollute their air and water before it’s reviewed by those with the expertise to conduct such an assessment without bias—not the foreign oil companies or their lobbyists who stand to profit. It is like getting medical tests and a second opinion before deciding on the appropriate treatment, from a doctor and not a drug company.
Republican congressional leaders want to ram through a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline in 60 days for a route that hasn’t even been chosen yet, without any analysis. Any attempt to prematurely force this pipeline approval ignores the damaging pipeline spills in Michigan, Montana, and elsewhere over the last few years, not to mention the inevitable increase in harmful carbon dioxide pollution. They want to write a blank check to a big foreign oil company at the expense of American families who face serious public health risks should the construction and operation of the Keystone pipeline move forward.
Today President Obama made a courageous decision that says that special interests will not decide our clean energy future.
To speak to Daniel J. Weiss, please contact Christina DiPasquale at 202.481.8181 or [email protected].
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