South Dakota Hotel Owners Describe Effects of Keystone XL Cancellation
This is part three of a series exploring the effects of President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
MIDLAND, S.D. “My husband just called me … he just got fired,” said Laurie Cox, her voice trembling ever so slightly as she put on a brave smile. But it was impossible to ignore her now-crestfallen demeanor.
Cox is the owner of a hotel in Midland, South Dakota, a quaint town with a population of about 100. She had just finished talking about how business was booming late last year, when she had befriended people working on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
South Dakota Governor Calls Biden’s Abrupt Termination of Keystone Pipeline ‘Dangerous’
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said that President Joe Biden’s recent executive decision to end the Keystone XL Pipeline project has not only hurt her state’s economy but is dangerous for America’s energy independence, adding that she would like to see the Biden administration prioritize all-of-the-above energy policy.
“I’ve always been a supporter of diversified energy, I think it’s critically important that we prioritize all forms of energy,” Noem told Fox News on Wednesday. “Biden has specifically gone after coal and oil and gas and I think that’s dangerous.”
Biden’s Keystone Shutdown an ‘Attack on the Rule of Law,’ South Dakota’s Johnson Says
This is part two of a series exploring the effects of President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
MITCHELL, S.D. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) has listened to story after story from local business owners who have been hurt badly as a result of the shutdown of the Keystone XL pipeline.
In addition to the more than 1,000 pipeline workers who were laid off after Biden signed an executive order revoking the presidential permit signed by President Donald Trump, the effects have rippled across the state, hitting smaller rural communities that relied on the economic opportunities the pipeline was to bring.
(Jason Franson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden signed executive actions last week prioritizing solutions to the “existential threat” of climate change, drawing the ire of many key players in the politically powerful oil and gas industry.
Biden’s actions pressed pause on the leasing of federal lands and waters for oil drilling, set a goal of keeping 30 percent of federal lands for conservation purposes and announced the electrification of the federal government’s fleet of vehicles. The move comes a week after Biden revoked the permits for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline just hours after his inauguration, following through on a campaign-trail promise.
Fracking Ban is Banned by Braun’s Amendment
WASHINGTON–The Biden administration’s EPA may not be able to ban fracking for now, thanks to an amendment from Sen. Mike Braun. Indiana’s junior Republican senator attached his amendment to the relief legislation that may provide more stimulus checks, and many other COVID relief programs.
The budget resolution for the bill, along with 48 other amendments, passed late Thursday.
“This is an issue of energy independence,” said Braun, speaking to the Senate. “It gives us time to find the cleanest, least expensive options down the road.”
Braun said that the U.S. has passed Russia and Saudi Arabia as a leading energy supplier, and he believes banning fracking might force us to give up that position.