SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Yesterday, on his first day in office, President Joe Biden cancelled the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, effectively halting its development. Representatives Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL – Roseville) and Heather Keeler (DFL – Moorhead), released the following statement in support of this decision, with several House colleagues joining in solidarity:
“First and foremost, we would like to thank President Biden for taking this important proactive step towards addressing climate impacts and hearing the voices of the people over the demands of international oil companies. This is great news for our nation's environment, Indigenous rights, and landowners located along the pipeline’s route.
The Keystone XL project holds many key similarities with Enbridge’s Line 3 and the Dakota Access Pipeline projects. Like Keystone, Line 3 and Dakota Access would endanger our valuable water resources, cause irrevocable harm to our climate, and have been pushed forward despite opposition from impacted tribal communities. As a state and nation, we must strive for a green energy future and make decisive steps to address the harm to our environment perpetuated by the fossil fuel industry. It is our hope that the Biden-Harris administration will continue to listen to the voices of the millions of Americans who see addressing climate change as a top priority.”
The Keystone XL pipeline was first proposed 15 years ago and was expected to carry 830,000 barrels of dirty tar sand oil per day through Canada and the United States. Similar to other pipeline projects, it has been plagued by controversy and numerous lawsuits from the start. President Obama rejected the permit in 2015, but the right of way was later granted by President Trump.
Representatives Patty Acomb (District 44B), Esther Agbaje (District 59B), Kaela Berg (District 56B), Liz Boldon (District 25B), Jim Davnie (District 63A), Sandra Feist (District 41B), Cedrick Frazier (District 45A), Peter Fischer (District 43A), Aisha Gomez (District 62B), Emma Greenman (District 63B), Jessica Hanson (District 56A), Hodan Hassan (District 62A), Alice Hausman (District 66A), Sydney Jordan (District 60A), Kaohly Her (District 64A), Athena Hollins (District 66B), Frank Hornstein (District 61A), Fue Lee (District 59A), Todd Lippert (District 20A), Jamie Long (District 61B), Sandra Masin (District 51A), Carlos Mariani (District 65B), Rena Moran (District 65A), Kelly Morrison (District 33B), Liz Reyer (District 51B), Ruth Richardson (District 52B), John Thompson (District 67A), Samantha Vang (District 40B), and Jay Xiong (District 67B) join in solidarity with this statement.
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