The
Senate on Tuesday defeated a House-passed bill to authorize the Keystone XL
pipeline.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a leading opponent of the project, said it
would be “crazy” to promote the use of the dirtiest oil on the planet while
scientists say global warming is getting worse. “The scientific community is
telling us that we have a narrow window of opportunity to address the crisis of
climate change and to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and
into energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Bernie said. “This legislation
would move us in exactly the wrong direction toward not only more dependence on
fossil fuels, but on some of the dirtiest fossil fuel imaginable. That is
insane.”
Bernie disputed pipeline proponents who bill the project as a
way to create jobs. In fact, he said, there would be fewer than 50 permanent
jobs if the pipeline were to be completed. “To talk about 50 permanent jobs as a
‘jobs program’ is nothing more than a cruel and misleading hoax to workers in
this country who want and need decent-paying jobs,” said Bernie, who serves on
the Senate energy and environment committees.
“We do need a major jobs
program, but this isn’t it,” Bernie said, calling instead for Congress to pass a
meaningful infrastructure rebuilding program to create millions of good-paying
jobs. |
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