AISI Hails Senate Passage of Keystone XL legislation

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  Thomas J.Gibson, President and CEO, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) today lauded the passage of Keystone XL legislation by the US Senate by a 62-36 vote. The bill will now be forwarded to the President’s desk. Gibson further urged President Barack Obama to reconsider his decision to veto the bipartisan legislation.

Earlier, the House of Representatives had voted 266-153 in favor of the key legislation that allows construction of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. However, the legislation had failed short of adequate number of votes to override President’s veto. The bill had received only 63% support as against the required 66%.

“Pipelines have been long recognized as one of the safest and best-regulated ways to move crude oil and petroleum products and a critical part of a strong U.S. energy infrastructure.  For energy-intensive industries, like steel, reliable and plentiful energy sources are essential to remaining highly productive and internationally competitive.  If the President is serious about fostering energy independence and job creation, approving the Keystone XL pipeline is low hanging fruit.”, noted Gibson.

The pipeline project is estimated to add $3.4 billion in additional revenue to GDP and create over 42,000 jobs.

The proposed Keystone XL Pipeline would run through Baker, Montana, where American-produced light crude oil from the Williston Basin (Bakken formation) of Montana and North Dakota would be added to the Keystone's current throughput of synthetic crude oil (syncrude) and diluted bitumen (dilbit) from the oil sands of Canada.