Rep. Chris Stewart Leads Charge Towards Energy Independence

Contact: Allison.Barker@mail.house.gov

Stewart Says, “In short, building the pipeline is in the nation’s best interest and there is no logical reason not to allow it to move forward.”

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, led a key hearing, moving one step closer to getting the Keystone XL Pipeline approved.  The Keystone pipeline would bring crude oil from the Tar Sands of Alberta, Canada to refineries of the gulf coast in the United States. Today’s joint Environment and Energy Subcommittee hearing reviewed the environmental and science aspects of the Keystone XL project, with a specific focus on the State Department’s recently released Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).

“The subject of today’s hearing, the XL pipeline, has been under continuous review for more than four years,” Chairman Stewart said. “In that time we have learned that the project is safe, environmentally sound, that it will create jobs and that it promotes energy security.” 

In the SEIS, the State Department affirmed that the Keystone XL project would potentially support approximately 42,000 jobs across the United States. This employment would translate to approximately $2.05 billion in earnings, helping working families across the United States.

“President Obama frequently urges us to reduce our reliance on foreign oil from unstable, undemocratic regimes that are unfriendly to U.S. interests,” Chairman Stewart said.  “As a former Air Force pilot, I have personal knowledge of how important it is to reduce our reliance on sources of energy that emanate from instable and unpredictable areas of the world. If you want to enhance our national security, while decreasing the need to put our sons and daughters in harms way in far off regions of the world, then build the Keystone pipeline.”

Regarding the project’s safety, the State Department’s report found the Keystone XL project to be safe, and even said that it would be one of the safest ever built and operated. The report went on to say that there would be no significant impacts on the environment.

“In short, building the pipeline is in the nation’s best interest and there is no logical reason not to allow it to move forward,” Stewart said.