Wyden, Merkley vote against Keystone pipeline

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined colleagues Tuesday in rejecting a bill to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, then issued statements explaining why.

After the vote, Wyden sent an e-mail to supporters, explaining why he believes the pipeline is “a bad deal for America.”

“The pipeline would connect Canadian tar sand oil fields to the Gulf of Mexico and the global oil market. Who would benefit? First and foremost: Canadian oil producers,” the senator wrote. “That’s great for Big Oil, but it’s a terrible deal for America”

Wyden called the pipeline “an environmentally risky project that would hurt, not help, American consumers. It would siphon off Canadian oil from our domestic market, increasing prices at the pump for American consumers – especially in the Midwest. The few temporary jobs that the pipeline would produce can’t compensate for the wide-scale negative economic and environmental effects it would create.”

“President Obama has been right to refrain from approving the Keystone XL Pipeline, and I urge him to hold firm,” Wyden said.

Merkley has been an outspoken opponent of the project and spoke on the Senate floor earlier in the day, urging his colleagues to vote no.

“Climate change already threatens our farming, fishing and forestry industries, and with them our middle-class jobs across rural Oregon and rural America,” the senator said.

“This is unacceptable, and it is important that we strive to tackle the carbon pollution driving global warming. To do so, we need to dramatically reduce the global consumption of fossil fuels and invest heavily in renewable energy.”

“We absolutely should not build the Keystone Pipeline, which would turn on the faucet for the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet,” Merkley added.