Miller-Meeks Calls on President to Reopen the Keystone Pipeline, Bring Back 8,000+ Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump urging the administration to reopen the Keystone XL Pipeline and restore thousands of good-paying American energy jobs lost under the Biden Administration.

“Reopening the Keystone XL Pipeline is essential to strengthening American energy independence and putting thousands of hardworking men and women back to work.” said Miller-Meeks. “When President Biden shut it down on his first day in office, it wasn’t just a political decision, it was a devastating blow to families, communities, and small businesses across the Midwest. Restarting Keystone will create jobs, lower costs, and ensure our nation is never again dependent on foreign adversaries such as Russia or Venezuela for our energy needs.”

Background

The Keystone XL Pipeline was first proposed in 2008 as a vital link between North American energy producers and U.S. refineries, designed to safely move up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day. After years of environmental review and approval processes, the project was rejected by the Obama Administration in 2015, revived and approved under President Trump in 2017, and then abruptly canceled by President Biden on his first day in office in January 2021.

That single decision wiped out more than 8,000 high-paying construction and energy jobs overnight, leaving families in states like Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and across the Midwest without paychecks. Small towns along the pipeline route, hotels, diners, equipment suppliers, and schools, lost tens of millions of dollars in expected local revenue. For many communities, the cancellation wasn’t just the loss of a project, it was the loss of opportunity and stability.

Reopening Keystone would send a clear message that America is once again open for business and committed to energy independence. It would help secure domestic energy supply, strengthen our national security, and bring back the confidence that we can still build and lead in the 21st century.

Miller-Meeks’ letter also calls for meaningful permitting reform to ensure that vital energy and infrastructure projects cannot be blocked by political games in the future. 

 Click HERE to read the full letter to President Trump.

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