Newsmax recently published an article by IWP Chairman Owen Smith, entitled “Keystone Pipeline Is Essential Geopolitical Strategy.” An excerpt of the article can be found below.
Once again the U.S. Senate has failed to pass legislation designed to overcome the administration’s opposition to the Keystone pipeline proposed by Trans Canada to bring crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast to be refined.
When proposed eight years ago, the pipeline was looked upon as an economic engine geared to create thousands of jobs both during construction and operation.
It has been delayed in a never ending regulatory battle.
Everybody assumed that the newly elected Republican controlled U.S. Senate would pass the bill easily. Not so. The Democrats in the Senate mounted a filibuster which the majority was unable to overcome. The politics have not changed.
Following the installation of the new Congress, legislation approving the pipeline easily passed the Republican controlled house and has been effectively blocked in the Senate.
Had it passed the Senate, the president has promised that he would not sign it. The president has said that he opposes the pipeline because the oil that would be refined in the Gulf refineries would be sent abroad — it would not benefit the American consumer.
This is not true. Even if it were all exported. It would help the United States free Western Europe from dependence on Russian oil and gas. The underlying issue is, Should the United States use energy as a policy tool in the new Cold War? The answer is a resounding yes.