The Keystone pipeline project was an instant victim when Joe Biden and his government assumed office in 2021, as the incoming leader made a statement to please climate protestors. The pipeline was killed off by a first-day executive order by the president, titled Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis. In the order, Biden argued that the Keystone XL project, which sought to deliver crude oil from the Alberta oil sands in Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, “disserves the U.S. national interest.”

Now, In a study surreptitiously issued at the end of 2022, Joe Biden’s Department of Energy confirmed the president had terminated tens of thousands of jobs when he stopped the Keystone XL pipeline project with the stroke of a pen, Western Journal writes. While declaring that it felt “the high-end figure overstates jobs,” the DOE admitted that certain analyses revealed between 16,149 and 59,468 temporary jobs generated by the project, but not all of them were lost by its termination.

The paper also said that the research “estimated that the construction of the KXL pipeline would contribute $3.4 Billion (or 0.02 percent) to the United States Gross Domestic Product.” In the study, the DOE stated the Biden administration reached the decision to withdraw the pipeline’s licenses because “its construction and operation would not be consistent with U.S. climate goals and it would undermine the global energy and climate leadership role of the United States.”

The figures were derived on a 2014 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, which said that the project will result in the creation of fifty permanent positions. The paper states, “Construction jobs would be more significant but temporary; if construction were to take two years, about 3,900 direct jobs would be created annually during construction, and 21,050 U.S. total jobs would be created, counting indirect and induced jobs.” Other estimates for temporary construction work during a two-year period ranged from 16,149 to 59,468 yearly. However, the report covers parts of the Keystone pipeline that are unrelated to the XL component, and employment were created as a result of their construction.

Western Journal noted the irony:

Needless to say, Republicans weren’t happy about the Biden administration in the last days of 2022 at last admitting to what we had all been saying — and doing it quietly.

“The Biden administration finally owned up to what we have known all along — killing the Keystone XL pipeline cost good-paying jobs, hurt Montana’s economy and was the first step in the Biden administration’s war on oil and gas production in the United States,” Montana Sen. Steve Daines said in a Thursday statement. “Unfortunately, the administration continues to pursue energy production anywhere but the United States. These policies may appeal to the woke Left, but hurt Montana’s working families. I’ll keep fighting back against Biden’s anti-energy agenda and supporting Montana energy projects and jobs.”

“The Department of Energy finally admitted to the worst kept secret about the Keystone Pipeline: President Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline sacrificed thousands of American jobs,” Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho added. “To make matters worse, his decision moved the U.S. further away from energy independence and lower gas prices at a time when inflation and gas prices are drastically impacting Americans’ pocketbooks. The President must turn to American made energy and jobs rather than dictators and despots to fix the energy crisis he created on his first day in office.”

The report also states, “Additionally, the high-end figure comes from this study which faced significant criticism for including in its analysis project inputs from India, Russia, and Russian companies in Canada, thus including jobs outside the United States.”

However, it was never just about jobs. Remember when gasoline prices began to soar in 2022? Here was Biden’s reply:

REPORTER: What can you do about skyrocketing gas prices?

BIDEN: “Can’t do much right now. Russia’s responsible.”

REPORTER: What can you do about skyrocketing gas prices?

BIDEN: "Can't do much right now. Russia's responsible." pic.twitter.com/UZrBUEsliQ

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 8, 2022

Western Journal continues:

And while one could make the argument the pipeline wouldn’t have been operational by last spring, it sent a message to oil and gas companies: Slow your pumping and refining, and invest in new fossil-fuel infrastructure at your own risk. Then, the administration blamed those companies for the gas-price debacle and told them to raise production totals or else — something even CNN’s John Berman had to call out when Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said energy producers “need to increase supply,” in part “by drilling more.

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

In other words, oil and gas companies are supposed to subsidize the government by paying for drilling and fossil-fuel infrastructure as the Biden administration tries to end drilling and fossil-fuel infrastructure. CONTINUE READING…