WASHINGTON (AP) – In one of his first acts as the new chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to reconsider his executive order to revoke a presidential permit for to the much-delayed Keystone XL pipeline, siding with Republican critics who say Biden’s action will cost thousands of well-paid jobs.
West Virginia’s Manchin has not yet led a hearing since he was named president last week, but has spoken out over the gas pipeline controversy that has spanned four presidencies. In a letter to Biden, Manchin said Keystone XL and other pipelines “continue to be the safest way to transport our oil and natural gas resources and support thousands of well-paid American union jobs.”
His comments indicate the complicated relationship the White House is likely to have with Manchin, a moderate who has urged Biden to act bipartisanly on the COVID-19 relief and other issues, including climate change. Manchin leads a committee that is crucial to Biden’s efforts to address climate change, but has expressed skepticism about some of the actions advocates say are needed to reduce the harmful greenhouse gas emissions they contribute. to global warming.
Manchin, a longtime coal industry advocate who once fired a copy of a climate change bill for a campaign ad, has worked to improve relations with environmentalists. He says he supports “responsible” efforts to tackle climate change, but has urged Biden to consider the effects of his actions in energy-producing states like West Virginia.
Breaking with his party, Manchin questioned Biden’s action to rejoin the Paris Global Climate Agreement, in which more than 100 countries have pledged to achieve zero zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. .
Biden rejoined the Paris deal on his first day in office, after former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 deal. Echoing an argument used by Republicans, Manchin said that the United States is at a disadvantage by pledging to reduce fossil fuels while India and China continue to burn large amounts of coal.
Similarly, Manchin said revoking the cross-border permit for Keystone XL could have a negative effect on security, jobs and energy security, and noted Canada as one of the largest and most trusted trading partners. have the US.
The 1,700-mile (2,735-kilometer) pipeline was planned to carry approximately 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of Texas, via Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. First proposed in 2008, the pipeline has become emblematic of the tensions between economic development and the reduction of fossil fuel emissions that cause climate change. The Obama administration rejected the pipeline, but Trump reactivated it and was a staunch advocate.
Manchin’s comments follow similar comments from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who said in an interview with “Axios on HBO” that he wished Biden had not canceled Keystone XL on his first day in office.
“I wish I had paired it more carefully with what he did secondly by saying here where we create jobs,” Trumka said, referring to Biden’s Jan. 27 executive order on climate change.
Trumka, like Manchin, an ally of Biden, said he believes Biden knows he made a mistake in not announcing plans for job creation while rejecting the Canadian pipeline.
“The next time the issue came out it was done the right way,” said Trumka, who noted that the White House promises to create jobs in mine recovery, fix “leaks and leaks” in old mines and clean old industrial sites.
White House spokesman Vedant Patel said Biden has proposed “transformative investments in infrastructure that will not only create millions of good union jobs, but will also help combat the climate crisis.”
Manchin said his views on the pipeline are reported by accidents in its state and elsewhere where crude oil spilled by trucks and railways has been spilled. He cited a U.S. Department of Transportation analysis that showed that spills or other incidents occurred approximately once for every 50 million gallons of crude shipped by rail and 55 million gallons shipped by truck, compared to once every 720 million gallons shipped by pipeline.
“I had a train that exploded in my state. I know this product is still in the United States, ”Manchin told reporters last month. “I think it’s safer to come by pipe than by road or rail. So we will have these discussions. “
Manchin’s letter came when 14 Republican attorneys general sent a letter informing Biden that his decision to reject Keystone XL “will cause devastating damage to many of our states and local communities. Even those states out of the way of the pipeline Keystone XL (in fact all Americans) will suffer serious detrimental consequences, ”GOP officials said.
The letter was written by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and signed by 13 other state agencies, including Ken Paxton of Texas and Patrick Morrissey of West Virginia, who lost a 2018 Senate race against Manchin.