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WASHINGTON (AP) – In one of his first acts as the new chair of the Senate Energy Committee, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to reconsider his executive order revoking a presidential permit for the pipeline Long-delayed Keystone XL siding with Republican critics who say Biden’s action will cost thousands of high-paying jobs.
Manchin, from West Virginia, has yet to conduct a hearing since his appointment as president last week, but he has spoken out on the controversy over the pipeline that spanned four presidencies. In a letter to Biden, Manchin said that Keystone XL and other pipelines “continue to be the safest mode to transport our oil and gas resources, and that they support thousands of well-paying American union jobs” .
His comments signal the delicate relationship the White House is likely to have with Manchin, a moderate who urged Biden to act bipartisanly on relief from COVID-19 and other issues, including climate change. Manchin heads a committee crucial to Biden’s efforts to tackle climate change, but has expressed skepticism about some of the actions advocates deem necessary to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
Manchin, a longtime coal industry advocate who once pulled a copy of a climate change bill for a campaign advertisement, has worked to improve relations with environmentalists. He says he supports “responsible” efforts to tackle climate change, but urged Biden to consider the effects of his actions on energy-producing states such as West Virginia.
Breaking with his party, Manchin questioned Biden’s action to join the global Paris climate agreement, in which more than 100 countries pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by mid-September. century.
Biden joined the Paris Agreement on the first day of his tenure, after former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 deal. Echoing an argument used by Republicans, Manchin said that the United States was putting itself at a disadvantage by pledging to reduce fossil fuels while India and China continued to burn massive amounts of coal.
Likewise, Manchin said revoking the cross-border license for Keystone XL could have a negative effect on safety, jobs and energy security, citing Canada as one of the most important and trusted trading partners. the United States.
The 1,700-mile (2,735-kilometer) pipeline was to transport approximately 800,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of Texas, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas. and Oklahoma. First proposed in 2008, the pipeline has become emblematic of the tensions between economic development and the reduction of fossil fuel emissions that cause climate change. The Obama administration rejected the pipeline, but Trump relaunched it and was a staunch supporter.
Manchin’s comments follow similar remarks by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who said in an interview with ‘Axios on HBO’ that he wished Biden hadn’t canceled Keystone XL on day one of its mandate.
“I wish he had linked that more carefully to what he did second in saying here where we are creating jobs,” Trumka said, referring to Biden’s Jan. 27 decree on climate change. .
Trumka, like Manchin, an ally of Biden, said he believed Biden knew he had made a mistake in not announcing job creation plans at the same time as he was rejecting the Canadian pipeline.
“The next time the subject was brought up it was done the right way,” Trumka said, noting that the White House was promising to create jobs in mine reclamation, fixing “leaks and seeps “in old mines and cleaning up old industrial sites.
White House spokesman Vedant Patel said Biden had proposed “transformative investments in infrastructure that will not only create millions of good union jobs, but will also help fight the climate crisis.”
Manchin said his views on the pipeline are informed by accidents in his state and elsewhere in which crude oil transported by truck and rail has spilled. He cited an analysis from the US Department of Transportation showing that spills or other incidents occurred about once per 50 million gallons of crude oil shipped by rail and 55 million gallons shipped by truck, compared to once. every 720 million gallons shipped by pipeline.
“I blew up a train in my condition. I know this product is still coming to the United States, ”Manchin told reporters last month. “I think it’s safer to come by pipe than by car or train. So we’re going to have these discussions. “
Manchin’s letter came as 14 Republican attorneys general sent a letter telling Biden that his decision to reject Keystone XL “will cause devastating damage to many of our states and local communities.” Even states outside of the Keystone XL pipeline path – indeed all Americans – will suffer serious and damaging consequences, ”GOP officials said.
The letter was written by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and signed by 13 other AGs, including Ken Paxton of Texas and Patrick Morrissey of West Virginia, who lost a Senate race in 2018 to Manchin.
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