Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Tuesday criticized President Joe Biden's decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.
Appearing on Fox News Network, Manchin said the pipeline was better than alternative means of transporting oil.
"Well, at the bottom line, I disagree. I respectfully disagree with the president and the executive order on doing away with the Keystone pipeline," Manchin said. "I've seen a train blow up in West Virginia carrying that crude. I've seen tanker cars explode going through towns. It's much safer in that pipeline than it is coming across the road or the rail.
"If they think they're going to stop that product, that's a heavy crude we need in our refineries."
Manchin added he would rather depend on energy from Canada than a hostile foreign power.
"I'm an all-in energy person," he said. "And we have to have energy basically, and not depend on foreign energy. So, we have to have the heavy crude. I rather it come from Canada than I would from Venezuela.
"All of this being said, we're going to find a pathway forward. But, bottom line is, we can do it cleaner. You cannot eliminate your way to a cleaner global environment. You can innovate your way through technology. And that's what we intend to do."
Among the executive orders signed during Biden’s first days in office was one revoking the March 2019 permit for the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline project.
The project was expected to create approximately 13,000 high-paying union jobs in the U.S. and Canada, according to an October 2020 report, per Fox News.
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