Congressman Harris Votes For Keystone XL Pipeline

The Real Job Creator for Baltimore’s Ellicott Dredges

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. voted this evening in favor of H.R. 3 “The Northern Route Approval Act” that would build the Keystone XL pipeline. After 1706 days of waiting for a green light from this administration and over 15,000 pages of review, this bill would remove any remaining obstacles and force President Obama to make a decision on this important energy independence and jobs project.

Last Friday, President Obama visited Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore where he talked a lot about cutting regulations and making it easier for businesses to create jobs. The irony is that the CEO of Ellicott Dredges testified before the House Small Business Committee the day before President Obama’s visit calling for the pipeline’s construction. President Obama could have done more for Ellicott Dredges and companies all across this country that support the energy and infrastructure sectors by staying in Washington to sign an executive order supporting the Keystone XL pipeline. Instead, he traveled to Baltimore for a photo-op.

“The American people have been waiting long enough for the President and Washington bureaucracy to get out of the way of this bipartisan energy independence and jobs project,” said Congressman Harris.

“The Keystone XL pipeline would create 20,000 jobs right now to build the pipeline and roughly 118,000 long term jobs to support the energy production. This is a no-brainer that must be approved by the President now in order to get Americans back to work and create a more secure energy future.

“President Obama had a unique opportunity last Friday when he visited Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore to throw his support behind this jobs-rich project. Instead, he used the visit to make more empty promises about cutting regulations. Enough is enough. Americans need these jobs. The House voted today to do just that, and the President should urge the Senate to get this jobs bill to his desk as soon as possible.”

Fast Facts:

· 20,000 jobs would be created to build the pipeline

· 118,000 jobs would be created long term to support the pipeline

· 830,000 barrels of oil a day or 1/2 of what the US imports from the Middle East