Grandstanding on Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Changes Nothing

WASHINGTON (March 22, 2013) – The Senate voted today on an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Resolution proposed by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) that would support building the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The non-binding measure received majority support but does not approve the pipeline.

Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, issued this statement on the measure:

“The Senators supporting this amendment made the wrong choice by bowing to Big Oil. Their symbolic vote doesn’t change the law or the truth about this dangerous project. 

“The President will still make the ultimate decision about the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline after the current public process is completed evaluating whether it’s in the national interest. And it’s time to stop grandstanding and to get the facts: the tar sands pipeline is all risk and no reward for the American people.

“It's still true that the Keystone XL project would pipe some of the world's dirtiest oil through the heartland for export through the Gulf of Mexico. It’s still true Midwestern oil prices will go up. It's still true that it would threaten American homes, farms and ranches with spills, and worsen climate change by enabling tar sands development. These facts demonstrate that the Keystone pipeline is not in the national interest and should be denied.”