***Also See our Pamphlet, “Why Americans Say Yes To Keystone XL
Support for the Keystone XL pipeline is overwhelming across the political spectrum. Poll after poll has found that a vast majority of Americans – Republicans, Democrats and Independents – want the Keystone XL pipeline to be built to create thousands of jobs and increase our energy security.
Here’s what some of the top polls recently found:
- A recent Pew poll revealed that support for Keystone XL is “almost universal.”
- A South Dakota poll found that Keystone XL “has landslide support” with 60 percent backing the project and 30 percent opposed.
- A December 2013 Bloomberg National poll found that over 60 percent of Americans believe that President Obama’s five year delay of Keystone XL is due to politics, rather than “legitimate concerns” about the pipeline.
- A Pew poll conducted in September 2013 found that in states where the pipeline would traverse – Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas – 69 percent support Keystone XL while 28 percent are opposed.
- A June 2013 poll conducted by Harris Interactive found that 83 percent of Republican voters, 69 percent of Independents and 63 percent of Democrats want Keystone XL to be built.
Obama administration officials and supporters: Former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said that Keystone XL is a “win-win” for the economy and the environment. Former Obama U.S. Geological Survey chief Marcia McNutt said “it’s time to move forward on Keystone XL. The Washington Post reported that “many government officials privately back the project on the grounds that it would expand the oil supply the U.S. would receive from a trusted ally, as well as bolster our relationship with Canada more broadly.” Long-time Obama supporter Warren Buffet said Keystone XL is a “good idea for the country.”
National Security Experts: Former Obama National Security Advisor General Jim Jones said if we want to “make Putin’s day” we should reject Keystone XL. Former Obama National Security Advisor Tom Donilon said that he “probably would” advise approval of Keystone XL to strengthen our national security. Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz said that he supports Keystone XL on energy security grounds because, “That’s oil that doesn’t go through the straits of Hormuz,” he said.
Union and Labor Groups: Union groups have rallied across the country to tell President Obama to approve Keystone XL and tens of thousands of jobs. Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) explained in a letter, “unemployed construction workers desperately need the work” and Keystone XL is a “lifeline” for thousands of members. Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO said, “Anything that makes sense and creates jobs and is sound environmental policy as well, we will be doing it. [With respect to] the XL pipeline, there’s no environmental reason that it can’t be done safely while at the same time creating jobs.” Sean McGarvey, President of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, said, “The Keystone XL project will create tens of thousands of good paying jobs here in the United States and Canada. For many members of our unions, Keystone XL is not just a pipeline; it is, in the most literal sense, a lifeline.”
Democrats and Republicans on the campaign trail: Democrats and Republicans across the country are pushing for the pipeline as they work to win votes. From Kentucky to Montana, from North Carolina to Louisiana, from Arkansas to Alaska candidates from both sides are saying Keystone XL is something they can agree on.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress: Democrats and Republicans in Congress have come together to urge the approval of Keystone XL. As Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) put it, the “list of reasons to build [Keystone XL] is now nearly as long as the pipeline itself.” Eleven Senate Democrats wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to let his “final decision be the right one, finding that the Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest.” As Senator Begich (D-AK) rightly put it, “This is a bipartisan effort by all of us. There’s no question – this is about jobs for America.”
