In response to the Bureau of Land Management’s draft programmatic environmental impact statement on shale development released today, Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy issued the following statement

Karen Harbert, President & CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, was interviewed today on Fox News about yesterday's decision about the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Obama administration rejects TransCanada’s application for a permit to build the Keystone Pipeline: Economic and political implications of the decision and prospects for an alternative route.

On Wednesday January 18th, President Obama denied Transcanada’s permit that would have allowed the company to proceed with building the Keystone XL pipeline. The President failed to find that the project was in the national interest stating that the new Congressionally-imposed February 21st deadline did not provide enough time for the Administration to complete their review of new route through Nebraska.

Chamber of Commerce Oil Sands Issues VP Matt Koch explains why the Keystone Pipeline is important to our economy and growth.

The Washington Post
By Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson
Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 3:48 PM

President Obama, declaring that he would not bow to congressional pressure, announced Wednesday that he was rejecting a Canadian firm’s application for a permit to build and operate the Keystone XL pipeline, a massive project that would have stretched from Canada’s oil sands to refineries in Texas.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In response to reports that President Obama will deny the Keystone XL pipeline permit, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement today:

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the Keystone XL pipeline project. The chamber, as the state's largest business advocacy organization, is committed to strengthening the business environment in Minnesota.

The need for a comprehensive energy plan was the impetus behind the formation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Partnership to Fuel America, of which the Nebraska Chamber is a member. The Partnership advocates for an energy plan that promotes increased development of our North American energy resources, rather than continuing to rely on energy from unstable regions such as the Middle East.

US Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue made energy the lead item in his jobs agenda for 2012, calling for speeding oil and natural gas permitting and quickly approving the Keystone XL pipeline to boost the economy.