Republicans are pressuring Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to reveal the economic effects associated with the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline as they face off with the Biden administration over energy policy.
Eleven Senate Republicans wrote Granholm Tuesday, asking her to comply with a provision of the new infrastructure law that requires her to report to Congress an assessment of total jobs lost since President Joe Biden revoked the pipeline’s permit, as well as the projected consequences for consumer energy costs.
The 90-day deadline for delivery of the report passed on Sunday, and the lawmakers, including Sens. Jim Risch of Idaho and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, asked for an update on its status.
DEMOCRATS WEIGH FEDERAL GAS TAX HOLIDAY, WITH AN EYE TOWARD MIDTERM ELECTIONS
They also criticized Biden’s decision to cancel permits for the pipeline, which has been top-of-list among Biden administration energy policies subject to Republican criticism.
“Significant prospective spending for rural communities and small businesses, as well as tax revenue for local schools and public safety, disappeared with the stroke of a pen,” the lawmakers wrote.
An Energy Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner, “We are in receipt of the letter and continue to make progress on this report as we prepare to deliver the final version to Congress.”
Biden issued an executive order on his first day in office, judging that the Canada-Nebraska oil pipeline “disserves the U.S. national interest” and contradicts his administration’s climate change goals. TC Energy, the Canadian firm behind the pipeline, pulled the project in June 2021.
The decision was born in large part out of Biden’s priority of encouraging the displacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy sources. Shortly after Biden revoked the pipeline’s permit, he also issued a moratorium to pause all new oil and gas leases on federal lands, a decision that was enjoined by a federal court last summer.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The administration has since been forced to respond to a steep rise in energy prices, including crude oil and gasoline, and has encouraged domestic oil and gas producers to increase output.
Despite the pipeline’s fate, Canada remains the United States’s top single source of crude oil imports by far, having sent in more than six times as much oil in November than No. 2, Mexico.
