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Pallone on Keystone Pipeline Executive Order

January 24, 2017

“It is curious that one of the President’s first actions is to give a sweetheart deal to a foreign oil company.”

Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) issued the following statement today upon news that President Donald Trump signed an executive order that cleared the way for the government to reconsiderthe Keystone XL pipeline:

"I'm disappointed, but not surprised, by Donald Trump's rash decision to bring the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline back from the dead. After declaring that domestic energy policy will now put ‘America First,' it is curious that one of the President's first actions is to give a sweetheart deal to a foreign oil company. Time and again the facts have demonstrated that approval of this single project will do nothing for U.S. jobs or energy security, and would only serve to lock in our dependence on foreign tar sands crude for years to come.

"The American public understands that the environmental risks of this project -– for our drinking water, land, and climate – far outweigh any perceived benefit of its construction, and we have wasted enough time on this pipedream. The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is a lose-lose proposition for energy security, a safe climate, and a healthy environment. At a time when we should be doing everything we can to reduce carbon pollution to mitigate the catastrophic impacts of climate change, resurrecting this failed project is an egregious step in the wrong direction."

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