Landrieu Calls on Obama to Approve Keystone Pipeline
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today joined a group of 53 bipartisan senators in sending a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. She also participated in a press conference with fellow senators urging approval. Sen. Landrieu has long been a supporter of the project, which will create more than 9,000 construction jobs and bring more than $5.3 billion in investment to the U.S.
"It is time for the President to look anew at this project and approve it for the benefit of the country. Not only will it create thousands of jobs and inject billions of dollars into our economy, it will strengthen our energy security by allowing us to import more oil from our trusted friend and ally Canada, instead of from Venezuela or nations in the Middle East," Sen. Landrieu said. "For decades, Louisiana has proudly refined oil from onshore, offshore and from overseas - we are eager to see the Keystone Pipeline approved so we can start refining more oil from Canada."
"The fact is that the United Sates remains many years away from ending its dependence on non-renewable energy resources such as oil. Until such time as we find ourselves in the clean energy future that we all hope to realize, as a matter of national security it is incumbent upon our government to increase our oil supply from reliable, trusted and environmentally conscious energy partners such as Canada," the letter read.
Read the letter Sen. Landrieu sent to President Obama today along with 52 other senators
Listen to audio of Sen. Landrieu's statement from today's press conference
Watch video of Sen. Landrieu at today's press conference
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