Of all the issues facing this country today, the new Republican Congress has decided that the most important one to start with was the (Keystone) XL Pipeline.
Even though this is being promoted as a jobs bill, a few temporary ditch-digging jobs notwithstanding, only a few dozen people will be needed to operate the pipeline once it is online. An amendment was offered requiring that only steel made in the U.S. be used on the project would boost this job number, but the Republicans have rejected this proposal.
Another claim is that America needs the oil. We now export more oil than we import, and prices have plummeted. However, an amendment requiring that any oil piped through the line would remain in this country, has also been rejected. Both amendments would help Americans, but they were rejected because they hurt the profit margin.
Meanwhile, a similar pipeline in Montana has burst, polluting the drinking water needed by local communities in the Yellowstone River, highlighting the ecological dangers of oil pipelines. The XL Pipeline would run through the bread basket of the nation, whose source of water is a vulnerable underground reservoir. A break anywhere along the line threatens it all.
It’s hard to imagine that any voter could fail to see through such obvious and blatant hypocrisy. Only a very few oil executives and stockholders stand to gain from this legislation, the most special of special interests, and not the general public. If your local representative supports the pipeline, I urge you to voice your protest with them.
– Marshall Dunlap
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