June 13, 2014
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C.  20510
 
Dear Senator,

On behalf of the more than 1.2 million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I am writing to thank Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) for sponsoring and the 55 senators who are co-sponsoring S. 2280, legislation to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.  Additionally, I respectfully ask the six senators who voted for the Keystone XL Pipeline amendment to the fiscal year 2014 Budget Resolution, but have not yet co-sponsored the legislation, to do so.  Furthermore, senators should urge their leadership to allow a vote on S. 2280 as soon as possible.

One reason for this request is the June 6 Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report.  While 217,000 private sector jobs were created, the unemployment rate is stuck at 6.3 percent, and the labor participation rate remains at 62.8 percent, a 36-year low.  Before the recession, the labor participation rate was at 80 percent.  On April 27, 2014, The New York Times reported on a study that shows the recovery has created far more lower-wage than better-paid jobs.  Moreover, the 2014 first quarter GNP declined at an annual rate of 1 percent.  Clearly, Congress needs to be proactive in order to help push the economy into a higher gear and the strong bi-partisan support for S. 2280 is one way to accomplish this task.

S. 2280 authorizes TransCanada to construct and operate the Keystone XL Pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.  The pipeline would transport an additional 830,000 barrels of oil per day to U.S. refineries.

According to the State Department’s March 2013 report on Keystone, “construction of the proposed Project would generate temporary, positive socioeconomic impacts as a result of local employment, taxes, spending by construction workers, and spending on construction goods and services.  Including direct, indirect, and induced effects, the proposed Project would potentially support approximately 42,100 average annual jobs across the United States over a 1-to 2-year construction period.”  According to the Canadian Energy Research Institute, the Keystone XL will create at least 117,000 new U.S. jobs over the long term.

It has already been proven that exploring and developing the nation’s energy resources helps create jobs.  The U.S. Energy Information Administration stated in an August 8, 2013 report that, “From the start of 2007 through the end of 2012, total U.S. private sector employment increased by more than one million jobs, about 1%.  Over the same period, the oil and natural gas industry increased by more than 162,000 jobs, a 40% increase.”  Due to surging oil and gas production, North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the U.S. of 2.6 percent and had the highest rate of economic growth in 2012.

It is time to support robust domestic energy production.  It is time to stop the wasteful delay on construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.  It is time for a vote on S. 2280.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW