The Biden administration published a congressionally mandated report highlighting the positive\u00a0economic benefits the Keystone XL Pipeline\u00a0would have had if President Biden didn’t revoke its federal permits.
\nThe report, which the\u00a0Department of Energy (DOE) completed\u00a0in late December without any public announcement, says the Keystone XL project would have created\u00a0between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs\u00a0and would have had a\u00a0positive\u00a0economic impact of between $3.4-9.6 billion, citing various studies. A previous report from the federal government published in 2014 determined 3,900 direct jobs and 21,050 total jobs would be created during construction which was expected to take two years.
\nBut immediately after taking office in January 2021, Biden\u00a0canceled the pipeline’s permits, effectively shutting the project down.
\n“The Biden administration finally owned up to what we\u00a0have known all along \u2014 killing the Keystone XL Pipeline cost\u00a0good-paying jobs, hurt Montana\u2019s economy and was the first step\u00a0in the Biden administration\u2019s war on\u00a0oil and gas production in\u00a0the United\u00a0States,”\u00a0Sen. Steve Daines. R-Mont., said Thursday in a statement. “Unfortunately, the administration continues to pursue energy production anywhere but the United States.”
\n“These policies\u00a0may appeal to the woke left but\u00a0hurt\u00a0Montana\u2019s\u00a0working\u00a0families,” he continued. “I\u2019ll keep fighting back against Biden\u2019s anti-energy agenda and supporting Montana energy projects and jobs.”
\nThe DOE was forced to issue the report after Daines and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, successfully inserted a bill mandating the report into the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Biden signed into law in November 2021. The agency was required to publish the report within 90 days of the bill’s passage but ultimately waited more than a year before releasing it.
\nIn a statement Thursday, the DOE noted that the project would have had minimal permanent job impacts, but didn’t mention the thousands of jobs that were estimated during the construction of the pipeline.
\n“The U.S. Department of Energy released a report evaluating existing analysis on economic and job effects of the XL portion of Keystone pipeline,” the DOE told Fox News Digital. “It concluded there were limited job impacts, with approximately 50 permanent jobs estimated to have been created were the pipeline operational.”
\nBiden’s decision to cancel the pipeline has\u00a0received widespread criticism\u00a0from Republican lawmakers and energy industry representatives who have argued it would have helped keep gas prices down and ensure energy security.
\nKeystone XL had been slated to be completed early this year and transport an additional 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to the U.S. through an existing pipeline network, according to its operator, TC Energy.<\/p>\n