Democrats Divided on Keystone Pipeline

Congressional Democrats are split on whether to support the 1,700-mile-long Keystone pipeline that would stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast. While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has serious concerns about the project, 20 Democratic House members are pushing for it, The Washington Post reported.
 

Reid wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this month about the pipeline that would run from Hardisty, Alberta, to Port Arthur, Tex.

In the letter he said, “The proponents of this pipeline would be wiser to invest instead in job-creating clean energy projects, like renewable power, energy efficiency or advanced vehicles and fuels that would employ thousands of people in the United States rather than increasing our dependency on unsustainable supplies of dirty and polluting oil that could easily be exported,” the Post reported.

The House Democrats, led by Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, wrote to President Barack Obama on Wednesday.

“Across the U.S., Americans are calling for jobs today and the Keystone XL Pipeline project will do exactly that, plus provide huge benefits to our national and local economies, and increase our energy supply and independence from foreign oil,” Green said according to the Post. “I urge the president to act now and grant the permit so we can get started on this as soon as possible.”