Soapbox: Keystone XL not a good deal for Americans


While it was fully expected that Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) would vote for the Koch Brothers-backed Keystone XL Pipeline, it was surprising that Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) did, without insisting on better terms for Americans in the deal. This is Canadian oil that is proposed to come through a pipeline across multiple states in our country down to the Texas Gulf Coast. There were efforts in the Senate, prior to the final vote, to get a better deal through amendments. The Senate voted down an amendment that would have required the oil that comes through the pipeline stay in the U.S., for the benefit of consumers in our country.

The Senate appears poised to change a long-standing rule of not shipping crude oil out the country, which would mean that all building this pipeline would do would be to transport this oil to a wam-water port in the U.S. for shipping to China and similar countries. The other amendment the Senate defeated was a proposal to require that American steel be used in construction of the pipeline, which is indefensible. Also, apparently not considered was a guarantee that all jobs in building and maintaining the pipeline on American soil go to Americans. There is nothing stopping the builders of the pipeline from hiring Canadian and other foreign workers to build and maintain this pipeline. As it currently stands, this pipeline proposal is a rip-off of the American consumer and a slap in the face to American workers and manufacturers.

Given that, I hope President Barack Obama does veto this pipeline bill and holds Congress' feet to the fire to get a better deal for Americans.

John Thomas lives in Fort Collins.