Last updated on: 8/12/2015 10:37:46 AM PST
Should the United States Authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline to Import Tar Sand Oil from Canada?
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"I completely support the Keystone Pipeline if, if it's not an issue of the government implementing eminent domain to procure right of ways...
I really don't understand where the regulatory hurdles are... I would certainly remove the regulatory hurdles."
Source: Internet town hall meeting, www.yowie.com, Mar. 1, 2012
Pro
"If I am elected President I will immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline. No impact on environment & lots of jobs for U.S."
Source: Donald Trump, Twitter post, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump, Aug. 18, 2015
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Con (No)
Now Con
I want the American people to know where I stand. That's why I am making it clear:
I am opposed to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
We shouldn't be building a pipeline dedicated to moving North America's dirtiest fuel through our communities -- we should be focused on what it will take to make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. For too long, the Keystone XL pipeline has been a distraction from the real challenges facing our energy sector -- and the job-creating investments that we should be making to meet them. Building a clean, secure, and affordable North American energy future is bigger than Keystone XL or any other single project. That's what I will focus on as president.
Source: "Why I Oppose Keystone XL," medium.com, Sep. 23, 2015
[Editor's Note: Clinton previously expressed a Not Clearly Pro or Con opinion on this question. Read Clinton's former position on the Keystone XL pipeline]
Con
"[T]he State Department makes it clear that the sticking point in their minds is the route of the pipeline. This fails utterly to address the critical issue - which is the amount of carbon that will be exhausted into the atmosphere from the Canadian tar sands. No matter which route is taken, this pipeline is a disaster for the planet. No further study is needed to come to this conclusion. As president, I would terminate this project so that we can move forward to a green energy future."
Source: Jill Stein, "Climate Victory on Keystone Pipeline Requires Continued Green Pressure Through 2012 and Beyond," jillstein.org, Nov. 13, 2011
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FORMER CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear below in black and white and in alphabetical order.)
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"Construction of the Keystone pipeline is a no brainer. It moves us toward energy independence and creates jobs. The President's politically motivated veto of the pipeline is an example of how this administration supports policies that suppress economic growth."
Source: Bloomberg BNA, "Jeb Bush Takes Positions on Climate Change, EPA Rules, Other Energy Issues," bna.com, July 30, 2015
Pro
"It's [the Keystone XL Pipeline] perfectly safe, so I can't really see a good reason not to do it."
Source: John McCormick, "Ben Carson Not Convinced on Global Warming," www.bloomberg.com, Nov. 26, 2014
Pro
"It shouldn't be that controversial. In the US we already have over 2.2 million miles of pipeline... the safety record is sound... [O]n the Keystone XL Pipeline, I've made my views abundantly clear on this topic. My view is that we are missing an enormous opportunity when we delay this development... The State Department's own environmental impact study concluded that... Keystone would be safe...
Keystone has now languished for much, much too long."
Source: “Governor Christie on Keystone Pipeline: It's Time to Get This Done,” YouTube.com, Dec. 14, 2014
Pro
"Today the U.S. Senate took an important step toward doing the job President Obama refuses to do: approving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and jumpstarting an American Energy Renaissance... Approving Keystone is a step in the right direction, but we need more. America needs a strong pro-jobs energy agenda that will free us from the Obama economy's persistent stagnation and spur economic growth."
Source: Ted Cruz, "Sen. Cruz: Keystone XL a Good Step But More Needs to Be Done," cruz.senate.gov, Nov. 18, 2014
Pro
"I support the Keystone Pipeline, and I believe it should be voted on by the representatives of the people. Of course, that has happened and it received overwhelming support. It's President Obama who has decided that he is not moving ahead with it...
The hypocrisy of President Obama's veto of the Keystone Pipeline is that, what we're doing today—shipping everything by rail—is worse for the environment than this pipeline."
Source: "Carly Fiorina on Clean Coal, Energy Independence, and National Security," energyfuse.com, June 10, 2015
Pro
“I was proud to vote today in support of the Keystone XL pipeline.
I was one of the first members of the United States Senate to visit the Canadian oil sands to see first-hand how this resource could benefit our country. The choice is simple - build the pipeline, create jobs in the United States, and lessen our dependence on oil from the Middle East. We need oil and Canada has the means to deliver it to us. There's nothing more common-sense than expanding our long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship with Canada.
The fate of Keystone XL is in President Obama's hands. If he rejects the pipeline it will be one of the most short-sighted decisions in memory."
Source: Lindsey Graham, "Graham Backs Keystone XL Pipeline," www.lgraham.senate.gov, Jan. 29, 2015
Pro
"Partisan politics has kept us from Arctic exploration, energy opportunities along the Outer Continental Shelf, building the Keystone pipeline, and new sources of natural gas. Wind, solar, and renewable energy have great potential, occur naturally, and flow from inexhaustible sources.
We should explore and exploit all forms of domestically produced energy — oil, gas, wind, solar, bio-fuels, hydro-electric, nuclear, coal — anything and everything."
Source: Huckabee 2016, "Energy Independence," www.mikehuckabee.com/energy (accessed Aug. 19, 2015)
Pro
"The pipeline would not only constitute a boon for our economy, but also for our energy security. Many of our states are at the forefront of America's energy boom, producing more alternative energy, oil and natural gas than ever before. Yet even as we make strides toward improved energy security, we continue to rely on hostile energy sources to meet our needs, and we remain vulnerable to global disruptions that can send prices skyrocketing for hardworking families. The Keystone XL pipeline would pump approximately 830,000 barrels of oil a day to U.S refineries, expanding access to a more stable and affordable energy supply from one of our closest friends and allies."
Source: Doug Ducey, et al., "Republican Governors Urge President Obama to Back Keystone," speaker.gov, Feb. 12, 2015
Pro
"My 2014 budget proposal, A Clear Vision to Revitalize America, would accelerate domestic resource development on public lands...
My plan would also approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. I have consistently and repeatedly voted to allow this project to proceed. Rather than create thousands of new jobs, expand America's refining capacity, and strengthen our unique partnership with neighboring Canada, President Obama has elected instead to block any progress on building the Keystone XL, in stark contrast to the 'all-of-the-above' approach to energy production he claims to support."
Source: Rand Paul, "Advancing Energy Security," paul.senate.gov (accessed Aug. 13, 2015)
Pro
"President Obama's decision not to move forward on the Keystone pipeline is a mistake. This decision offers even more appalling evidence that this administration is hopelessly rudder-less in its jobs and energy policies. By not acting on Keystone, the President is depriving America of a means to create jobs, take a step towards energy independence, and bolster our national security by tapping into our energy resources and those of our friends in Canada instead of tyrannical governments."
Source: Marco Rubio, "Keystone Pipeline Should Move Forward," rubio.senate.gov, Jan. 18, 2012
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Con (No)
Con
"I'm opposed to #keystoneXL bc we can't have a clean energy future if we rely on dirty, short-term fossil fuel fixes."
Source: Twitter post, twitter.com/MartinOMalley, July 27, 2015
Con
"I rise in very strong opposition to the legislation on the floor and to the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline...
[A]t this moment when the scientific community is so clear about the dangers inherent upon a further dependence on fossil fuels, it is absolutely imperative for the future wellbeing of this country that we listen to the scientists and we begin the path forward to break our dependency on fossil fuel, not accelerate more drilling for the dirtiest oil on the planet...
The Keystone XL Pipeline would move us exactly in the wrong direction. More dependence not only on fossil fuels but on some of the dirtiest fossil fuels imaginable - the dirtiest fossil fuels imaginable. That is crazy. To reject what the scientific community is telling us and then to add insult to injury by going forward aggressively and accelerating the drilling of dirty oil is something that is almost beyond comprehension...
Furthermore, when people talk about this being a jobs program, let's understand that there is no debate that what we are talking about are less than 50 permanent jobs - less than 50 permanent jobs. So to suggest this is some kind of big jobs program is nothing more than a cruel hoax and a misleading hoax to workers in this country who need decent-paying jobs."
Source: Library of Congress, "A Bill to Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline," thomas.loc.gov, Nov. 18, 2014
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