US GOV CONNECT SPECIAL COVERAGE

- Implementation Timeline Of Health Care Bill.  - Explanation Of The Buffet Tax Rule.  - The US Governments Tax Receipt.   - 2012 Presidential Timeline.

REPORTS ON PERSONAL FINANCES

- Life Insurance Settlements: How They    Operate And How They Are Regulated.  - Stock Market Headwinds Due To     Boomer Retirement.  - Seniors Are At Risk Of Outliving Assets.  - 2012 Self-Employment Tax.  - Too Many Options For Medicare Plans?

The Keystone XL Pipeline.

Patrick Mansfield | US Gov Connect

TransCanada first proposed the Keystone Pipeline February 8, 2005. The pipeline was built to transport heavy crude oil (The oil is extracted from the oil sands) from Canada to the US border. The project was completed, and became functional in June of 2010.

The Keystone XL pipeline was first proposed in 2008. The proposed route was to have the pipeline enter the United States through Montana, and then passing through Baker, Montana, where oil produced there (from the Baker Shale) would be mixed with the heavy crude from the oil sands. The pipeline was then to go through South Dakota and five states directly south, ending in south Texas.

The controversy surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline is that the route was to travel through Nebraska Sand Hills region, the location of a large Aquifer. The State Department requested that TransCanada reroute the pipeline, and TransCanada agreed. Due to the lengthy regulatory process, President Obama decided to put off a decision until 2013, after the 2012 election.

Inserted in the sixty day payroll tax cut extension was a proposal that President Obama make a decision on the pipeline within sixty days. On January 18th, 2012, President Obama concluded that the project needed more time for environmental impact studies, as recommended by the State Department. The permit was denied by the State Department.

Statement by the President on the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Earlier today, I received the Secretary of State’s recommendation on the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.  As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment.  As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be denied.  And after reviewing the State Department’s report, I agree. 

____________________________________________________________________________