AEM Urges Obama to Approve Keystone Pipeline

AEM President Dennis Slater urged President Obama in a letter to take immediate action; AEM also joined with other construction and business groups in an industry call-to-action letter. AEM will continue to work with allied organizations to push for support of the pipeline. Slater noted that the project will create 20,000 high-wage jobs in construction and manufacturing.

Slater said the project will "help provide a stable supply of North American energy to America consumers ?Ķ. (as) recent tensions in the Middle East and concern over the safety of the Straits of Hormuz necessitate that the United States enact sound energy policies that focus on expanding North American energy supplies and maintaining stable prices for American consumers."

The Keystone XL could provide 4 million barrels a day by 2020, twice what the U.S. currently imports from the Persian Gulf, Slater noted. "Enhancing our energy partnership with Canada will strengthen America’s energy and economic future."

The Keystone XL pipeline has been vetted for environmental concerns for more than three years by the U.S. Department of State. The final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) issued August 26, 2011 found that the proposed pipeline will have "limited adverse environmental impacts" during construction and operation, Slater stated in his letter. "Additionally, the (EIS) document concluded that the pipeline 'would have a degree of safety greater than any typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system under current regulations.' "

Slater concluded, "Mr. President, AEM strongly urges you to act swiftly to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. This pipeline will initiate immediate and long term economic benefits and is in the best interests of all Americans."