In his State of American Business speech yesterday, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donahue called on President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Donahue said, “Our biggest and most reliable foreign energy supplier is Canada. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would bring Canadian oil sands down to our Gulf Coast refineries and to other destinations along the way. This project has passed every environmental test. There is no legitimate reason—none at all—to subject it to further delay.” He added, “Labor unions and the business community alike are urging President Obama to act in the best interests of our national security and our workers and approve the pipeline. We can put 20,000 Americans to work right away and up to 250,000 over the life of the project.”

Also yesterday, over 100 trade groups, including the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many local trade associations such as the Mid-West Truckers Association, sent a letter to President Obama calling on him to approve the pipeline. They wrote, “[We] urge you to approve the Keystone XL pipeline as soon as possible. With your approval, this shovel-ready project will provide 20,000 jobs in construction and manufacturing in the next two years, and add tens of thousands of additional jobs throughout the economy in other sectors including service, retail and distribution. With our nation’s stubbornly high unemployment, it would be irresponsible to let such good-paying jobs slip away. . . Mr. President, the significant job creation, economic growth, energy security and national security benefits of this project make clear it is in the national interest. We strongly urge you to act swiftly to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.”

And of course, labor unions and Democrats in Congress have been calling for the president to move ahead on this pipeline for months. The AFL-CIO’s President of its Building and Construction Trades Department wrote in November that “we can’t wait” for the jobs the pipeline would create. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) said on the Senate floor last month, “I personally think the pipeline is absolutely in the national interest. . . . Canada is going to develop this resource. This oil is going to go somewhere. It, to me, is absolutely in our national interest for that oil to come to our country.” Even a member of Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) House Democrat leadership, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), told MSNBC, “I’m very much for the pipeline. There is no question about that.”

It’s obvious that approving the Keystone XL pipeline is a no-brainer: it creates jobs, enhances America’s energy security, and would undoubtedly help our economy. As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “The President has said his first priority is jobs. Well here’s an opportunity for him to show it: a pipeline . . . that, according to some estimates, would create thousands of jobs right away. Here’s an opportunity for the President to say he’s not going to let a few radical environmentalists stand in the way of project that would create thousands of jobs and make America more secure at the same time. The labor unions support this pipeline. The Chamber of Commerce supports it. Out-of-work Americans support it. And a growing number Democrats are expressing support for it too.”

Related:

Obama: “I Didn’t Overpromise,” But What About Stimulus?; Why The Delay On Keystone XL Which Costs Taxpayers Nothing?

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