GOP states urge Biden to reauthorize Keystone XL pipeline: 'We told you so'
The AG's said few viable options remain to import oil from Canada
Zekelman Industries CEO and Chair Barry Zekelman argues the Biden administration is doing a 'disservice' to the U.S. oil industry.
Multiple GOP state Attorneys General are calling on President Biden to reauthorize the Keystone XL pipeline, saying that his decision to revoke the Trump-era permit has contributed to record-high gas prices and made U.S. allies more dependent on Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.
In a letter, led by Montana State Attorney General Austin Knudsen, the signatories called Biden’s revoking of the Keystone XL permit on his first day in office "misguided" and "unlawful."
FILE: The route of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline lies idle through a farmer's field near Oyen, Alberta, Canada February 1, 2021 (REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo)
"We warned you then if your decision was not reversed, Americans would ‘suffer serious detrimental consequences,’ consumers would pay higher prices, and our allies would become further dependent on Russian and Middle Eastern oil," the wrote, adding: "We hate to say we told you so."
Now, they said, the U.S. is beset by record-high gas prices, economy-wide inflation, and European countries are literally funding Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine because they cannot afford to rid their dependence on Russian oil without rising an economic recession.
The attorneys general criticized for President Biden for asking OPEC+ nations to increase their oil output rather than encouraging investment in domestic energy production.
They noted that few viable options remain to import oil from Canada, as existing pipelines have little capacity. The oil, they said, "is the same oil that would have flowed through the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported nearly a million barrels per day—not only from Canada but from the Bakken oilfields in Montana and North Dakota—to American refineries."
FILE PHOTO: Storage tanks are seen at Marathon Petroleum's Los Angeles Refinery, which processes domestic & imported crude oil into California Air Resources Board (CARB), gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products, in Carson, Califor … (REUTERS/Bing Guan / Reuters Photos)
"Your vitriolic language and vilification of the American fossil fuel industries while holding out your hand to the despotic foreign leaders whose interests directly conflict with American values has undoubtedly depressed American development both on- and off-shore," they said.
The Attorneys General argued that recent events have increased the need more domestic energy development to prevent future economic hardship for Americans.
"Stop the quiet conversations with foreign powers and oligarchs," they said. "The solutions are right here at home."
The letter was signed by Attorneys General Steve Marshall of Alabama, Treg R. Taylor of Alaska, Mark Brnovich of Arizona, Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas, Ashley Moody of Florida, Theodore E. Rokita of Indiana, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Eric S. Schmitt of Missouri, John M. O’Connor of Oklahoma, Alan Wilson of South Carolina, Ken Paxton of Texas, Sean D. Reyes of Utah, Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia, and Bridget Hill of Wyoming.
FILE: President Joe Biden and the White House COVID-19 Response Team participate in a virtual call with the National Governors Association from the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House Complex on Monda … (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
President Biden’s pledge to halt new drilling on federal lands and end the leasing of publicly owned energy reserves was a central part of his presidential campaign.
Under former President Donald Trump, federal agencies prioritized energy development and eased environmental rules to speed up drilling as permits as part of his goal to boost fossil fuel production.
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FOX Business has reached out to the Energy and Interior Departments and the White House but did not hear back before press time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.