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Monday, March 18, 2024 | Back issues
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Obama Administration Says No to Keystone XL

(CN) - President Barack Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, bringing an end to the divisive proposal.

The pipeline would have been built by TransCanada Corp. and would have spanned 1,179 miles from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Neb., according to FactCheck.org.

Approval of the pipeline would have required a finding by the Obama administration that building it is in the nation's best interest, since it would have crossed the U.S.-Canada border. Debate over the proposal occurred during most of Obama's presidency.

"This morning Secretary [John] Kerry informed me that after extensive public outreach and consultation with other cabinet agencies, the State Department has decided that the Keystone XL Pipeline would not serve the national interests of the United States. I agree with that decision," Obama said Friday.

Obama said the proposed project would not have made "a meaningful, long-term contribution to our economy" and would not lower gas prices. He also said Keystone XL did not mesh with his administration's environmental initiatives.

"America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change, and, frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership," Obama said.

Republicans wanted Obama to approve the pipeline, claiming it would create jobs and help the economy. Obama said the proposed project took "an overinflated role in our political discourse."

"All of this obscured the fact that this pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others," he said.

Friday's rejection comes about eight months after Obama vetoed a bill that would have authorized construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

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