Manchin pushes Biden to reverse Keystone XL pipeline rejection by Josh Siegel,
Joe Manchin, the most centrist Democrat in a split Senate, is calling on President Biden to reconsider his decision to cancel a permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Manchin, the chairman of the powerful Energy and Natural Resources Committee, asked Biden in a letter on Tuesday that was shared with the Washington Examiner to consider what rejecting the pipeline means for safety, jobs, and energy security.
Biden’s decision, part of a day-one climate change executive order, has drawn backlash from union leaders who endorsed him and some centrist Democrats who say the cancellation will kill thousands of construction jobs.
The Biden administration is facing questions from these traditional allies on how its clean energy and infrastructure spending agenda will create new jobs that can replace lost work in the fossil fuel industry.
Manchin, who represents fossil fuel-intensive West Virginia, has been among the Democrats who have criticized Biden’s move to cancel the 2,000-mile Keystone XL pipeline that would have run from Alberta in western Canada to Texas.
But by going directly to Biden and calling for him to reverse the decision, Manchin is going a step further.
Manchin introduced the original Keystone XL bill in 2012 to approve the pipeline, and he praised former President Donald Trump’s executive order to resume its construction after the Obama administration rejected it.
As recently as last week, Manchin and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana joined Republicans to vote in favor of the pipeline project during a 15-hour “vote-a-rama” on amendments to the budget resolution.
In his new letter, Manchin called on Biden to support the continued construction of oil and gas pipelines more broadly.
“Ongoing development of responsible energy infrastructure supports your ‘Build Back Better’ priorities by keeping Americans working while strengthening North American economic and energy security,” Manchin said.
Several House and Senate Democrats are calling on Biden to build on his cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline by shuttering another controversial pipeline, Dakota Access, while it undergoes an environmental review mandated by the courts.
Biden has also signaled that he wants federal regulators to make it difficult for developers to obtain federal permits to build fossil fuel infrastructure, including pipelines and liquefied natural gas export facilities.
Manchin, however, argued that in the absence of pipelines, demand for oil would be met by more dangerous alternatives, such as truck and rail.
Comments are closed.
