11.06.15

Ranking Member Grijalva on President Obama’s Keystone Rejection: “A Testament to Years of Public Action on a Critical Issue”

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a leading House critic of the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, hailed today’s announcement that President Obama will formally reject Keystone as not being in the national interest. Grijalva cited the tremendous effort of Americans around the country who organized and campaigned for years against the pipeline.

“This is a testament to years of public action on a critical issue,” said Grijalva, who wrote a Feb. 26, 2014, New York Times op-ed encouraging President Obama to reject Keystone. “After pushing together in the right direction and never losing hope, citizen activists prevented a major source of dirty fossil fuels from being rubber-stamped. Everyone who believes individuals can move mountains when they work together will remember today with pride as long as they live. I know I will, and I know how thankful I am for the work of everyone who made today happen.”

Grijalva called on prominent Keystone supporters like Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz to drop their demands for the pipeline. “Let’s not make this another fight Republicans continue to wage long after they lose and the rest of the country moves on,” Grijalva said.

Keystone’s approval was called “inevitable” as recently as late September by outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was subsequently voted out of office in part because of his consistently poor environmental record.

“Nothing is inevitable when enough people stand shoulder to shoulder and never flinch,” Grijalva said. “Now let’s get back to work building a sustainable energy economy that doesn’t even have to debate whether the next Keystone is a good idea.”

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