Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today supported S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act. The bill approves the Keystone XL Pipeline putting an end to years of bureaucratic delays and allowing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project. 

The Keystone XL pipeline would transport crude oil from the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, to refineries in the United States. Canadian pipeline company TransCanada has estimated that it will invest $7 billion in the United States to build the pipeline, and that up to 20,000 jobs would be directly created by the pipeline’s construction. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the Keystone XL pipeline would be able to move 830,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents about half of the amount the U.S. imports from the Middle East. 

“Moving forward with the Keystone XL pipeline will create jobs and reduce our dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil,” said Simpson. “Our country cannot afford to play political games with our energy security, the Keystone pipeline needs to be built.”

Because the pipeline would connect the United States with a foreign country, it requires a Presidential Permit issued by the State Department. The State Department must find that the project would serve the national interest before it can issue the permit.

 “This project has broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, and it has been reviewed and studied for over six years and found to be environmentally safe,” Simpson said.  “I hope the President approves this bill, because the economic and energy security implications for this country are too important to delay any longer.” 

The House passed S. 1 by a vote of 270-152. It will now go to the President where he could sign the bill into law but will most likely VETO the legislation.