In the past weeks the political campaign has focused in social issues like Medicare, abortion and rape; all of these are areas in which President Obama has an advantage over Mitt Romney. According to the last AP-GfK poll, President Obama is seen much more capable of handling social issues. But now Mitt Romney has tried to focus in his energy plan to boost his economic plan.

Mitt Romney is now trying to refocus the national debate to economic issues in which Obama is weaker. The high unemployment rate has been one of Obama’s weaknesses; the Obama campaign has released a new ad called “Clear Choice,” which features former President Bill Clinton, saying that this election is an opportunity to decide which candidate would be able to get the country back to work.

Clinton explains the Republican plan intends to cut taxes on the wealthy and get the country back to the regulation that got the country in so many problems. On the other hand, Clinton explained that Obama’s plan would rebuild the country investing in innovation and creating jobs. Clinton added that the plan would only work with a strong middle class, such as the one that existed when he was president.

Romney is now working on his energy plan, which he says would be able to create three million jobs by 2020. It would also open more areas for drilling off the coast in two swing states the Republicans lost in the 2008 election: North Carolina and Virginia.

Romney will be traveling to different states with his energy proposals, so voters will have the opportunity to hear them. His plan is supposed to result in $1 trillion in revenue for federal, state and local governments. Also, Romney intends to give each state the liberty to establish the form of energy production they want on federal lands, which is quite different from Obama’s administration energy policy in which the federal government currently controls these lands.

Romney’s plan will have a lot of opposition in Congress and will lead to protests from different environmental groups, especially if the oil drilling is done in the mid-Atlantic, where it is currently banned. In order to prevent these protests, the energy production would be banned in areas that are currently designated as off-limits. Romney has a big plan to finally execute the Keystone XL pipeline project, which is a pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas refineries.

Mitt Romney has recently received almost $7 million from oil executives from fundraisers in Texas. During a fundraiser in Arkansas, Romney promised that “”North America will be energy-independent by the last year of my second term.”

Steve Holland in a Huffington Post article explains that the “Republicans are eager to make greater use of the U.S. energy supply to increase jobs for Americans suffering amid an 8.3 percent unemployment rate. They would curtail some federal regulations to permit more production.”

Holland, speaking about the environmental controversy that Romney’s plan could cause, said “the plan makes little mention of climate change or greenhouse gases. Romney policy adviser Oren Cass said Romney supports green energy and government spending on energy research, but opposes loan guarantees for green companies.”

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard expressed support for the Administration’s decision to challenge partisan politics and not bow to Republican pressure to prematurely approve TransCanada’s permit to develop a proposed 1,700-mile pipeline.  The Keystone XL Pipeline would transport crude oil and bitumen from Alberta, Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast.

“The Administration made the right decision to ensure that a project of this scale is done in a way that is good for both jobs and the environment,” said Gerard. “The White House is facing forces in Congress that have decided to use this project as a litmus test for their commitment to jobs, at the same time as they have blocked the door to every one of the Administration’s job proposals, but the fact is more time is needed to ensure that this project will have the economic and environmental benefits claimed by the developer.”

Proponents of the pipeline estimate that the project will create 13,000 construction jobs, 7,000 manufacturing jobs and allow the U.S. to supply our oil needs with Canada, a long-standing ally instead of unstable nations.

“While the jobs projections are promising, more needs to be done to ensure that North American companies and workers will benefit,” said Gerard. “We’ve seen too many instances where key elements of our nation’s infrastructure were outsourced to foreign producers – such as the $7 billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project that is being built using questionable steel from a state-owned Chinese company.

“That project is a slap in the face to American manufacturing workers at a time when unemployment is still high and U.S. factories are still closing.  We have to make sure that if there is going to be a TransCanada pipeline, manufacturing workers will benefit by using as much North American material as possible in its construction.”

The USW says that the State Department’s decision to deny the current permit does not prevent the potential development and deployment of a TransCanada pipeline as the door remains open for the project to be proposed again.  In fact, TransCanada, the lead company on the pipeline project, already has said it intends to re-apply for the needed permits.

“When dealing with our nation’s infrastructure, we have to make sure that we tap all of our capacity and ingenuity to build and repair it,” said Gerard. “That means making sure that as many of the component parts – from the pipe to the valves and cement – are made using North American materials.”

Much to the dismay of our idled members at U.S. Steel’s Granite City Steel facility, in 2009 TransCanada sourced most of the pipe from India for the initial stages.  At that time, over 2,000 Steelworkers were laid off for lack of orders.  To add insult to injury, the Indian pipe destined for the ConocoPhillips/TransCanada pipeline sat right outside the idled steel plant.

“Ensuring a domestic supply chain is our only chance to grow both the American workforce and our critical manufacturing sector,” said Gerard. “When TransCanada presents its new proposal for a pipeline, the USW looks forward to working with the Administration and others to ensure that the eventual project is done in the safest and most economically beneficial way for our members and their communities,” said Gerard.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors.

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LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – called the reported decision by the Obama Administration to block permitting for Keystone XL pipeline “politics at its worst.”

Last fall the Administration delayed consideration of a permit for the pipeline until after the 2012 elections. On January 18, in response to Congressional legislation requiring a 60-day decision, the Administration reportedly denied a permit.

“The score is Job-Killers, two; American workers, zero. We are completely and totally disappointed. This is politics at its worst,” LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan said. “Once again the President has sided with environmentalists instead of blue collar construction workers – even though environmental concerns were more than adequately addressed. Blue collar construction workers across the U.S. will not forget this.”

The project would create thousands of jobs at a time when unemployment in the construction industry is 16 percent with 1.3 million men and women jobless.

Environmental groups have cited the Keystone XL toward the argument against global warming. But proponents argue the pipeline would carry up to 900,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada’s Tar Sands to the U.S., reducing reliance on oil from hostile nations.

While environmental groups decry Tar Sands development, the Canadian government and Trans-Canada, the company developing the Tar Sands, have made clear the oil will be developed – and possibly sold to China – regardless of whether Keystone XL is built.

Some experts believe the project would be the safest ever constructed. Design included 21,000 sensors, monitored by satellites to immediately detect leaks and automatically stop the flow of oil. In addition, a revised route alleviated concerns in Nebraska over the project crossing water resources. Overall, the pipeline has undergone more than 1,100 days of governmental review.

“The Administration and environmentalists have blown the whistle on workers trying to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads,” said O’Sullivan. “Instead of celebrating their victory by hugging a tree they should hug a jobless construction worker because they’re the ones who are going to need it.”

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/LaborersInternationalUnionofNorthAmerica

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Green America strongly commends President Obama for his wise decision, announced  to reject the dangerous Keystone XL pipeline. The proposed pipeline would extend nearly 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf Coast.

This Canadian project poses severe consequences for human health and the environment while further entrenching the dirty fossil fuel economy and failing to generate lasting jobs. Investment in clean energy generates 3-4 times as many jobs as investments in fossil fuels.

“This is the right decision, a brave decision, and one that shows the President took into account profound concerns about the pipeline’s impacts on health, climate change, the environment, and the need to build a clean energy economy that can create lasting U.S. jobs,” said Fran Teplitz, Green America’s director of strategic outreach.

Last November, the Obama Administration pushed the deadline on its pipeline decision into early 2013, determining that current impact studies on the pipeline were insufficient. A fair and measured period of scrutiny for the proposed pipeline is exactly what Big Oil and Republicans in Congress don’t want, because this project fails on every score. Congressional Republicans pushed legislation in December designed to force a presidential decision on the pipeline in February 2012.

“The President made the right call today,” stated Alisa Gravitz, Green America’s executive director. “Green America and our allies will continue to work to oppose tar sands pipelines at every turn. We will continue to lend our voice and our organizing power to this issue which has dire consequences for Native communities, the earth, and the clean energy future that the times demand we create,” she affirmed.

Proponents of the pipeline tout it as a major job creator. Data show, however, that the Keystone XL pipeline can actually be a jobs killer in the U.S., through pipeline spills and increased fuel costs in the Midwest as current tar sands oil gets diverted. Moreover, with a significant portion of the Keystone XL oil intended for the export market, there is no credibility to the claim that tar sands oil represents a “friendly” oil source for the United States.

President Obama has used his decision-making power on the Keystone pipeline in a prudent and sensible way that will benefit current and future generations. Big Oil should not determine the direction of our energy future when we need a new direction based on clean and renewable power.

Green America is a national membership organization that uses the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society

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Urging President Obama to remove politics from a key decision that impacts U.S. jobs and national security, Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Connie Mack along with 56 other Members of the House, signed a letter recently demanding the President reconsider his decision to delay approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline until 2013.  The letter acknowledges that American’s are prioritizing job creation and energy security, Obama must follow suit.

Mack stated: ”It is damaging to hard working Americans that, after a three year process of review and delays on the decision to construct a secondary pipeline from our ally Canada, President Obama has put this project on hold until after next year’s election. Creating U.S. jobs and bringing security to the global economy cannot be placed on hold. An affirmative decision must be rendered without any further delays.”

Below is text of a letter sent to President Obama:

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to express our deep frustration over news that a decision on the Keystone XL Project will be further delayed until after next year’s presidential election. The decision by Nebraska’s legislature to vote on this project without any delay shows the American people’s resolve to create jobs and ensure our energy security.

We ask you to take action before the end of the year in line with the Department of State’s longstanding public timeline. As you know, the permit application for the Keystone XL Project was submitted over three years ago, in September of 2008.

Since then, this pipeline has undergone three stages of public environmental impact studies (draft, supplemental, and final) as well as detailed, public economic and national security reviews by myriad academics, consultants, and experts. The Keystone XL Project’s unusually protracted permit application process has allowed ample time and opportunity for public debates and investigations.

Any further delay in this process will only be viewed as placing political gain over the U.S. economy and security. Satisfying America’s future energy needs will require a willingness to commit to a variety of resources and technologies. Natural disasters and volatile political climates in places like the Middle East andVenezuela mean the global oil supply will remain susceptible to disruption with potentially severe impacts on the global economy and our national security.

Canadian oil, combined with domestic fossil fuels and alternative energy innovations, will go a long way toward determining our country’s energy security. Construction of the pipeline will create thousands of jobs and inject millions of dollars into local economies. While the Keystone XL Project cannot solve America’s energy crisis alone, it is a necessary step for the U.S. economy, U.S. national security and U.S. energy needs.

Mr. President, the American people should not have to watch this job creating project fail because of partisan concerns; our national security and economy are too important. The time to make a decision is now.

 

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