60 Plus Chairman supports $7 billion private sector TransCanada project

(Alexandria, VA) – 60 Plus Association Chairman James L. Martin, representing more than 7 million seniors, came out strongly today in a statement favoring the proposed pipeline to link Canada’s vast oil sands resources in Alberta to U.S. refineries in Texas through a cross-country pipeline.

“60 Plus urges the Obama Administration and state government leaders to move forward with the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project which will generate approximately $34 billion in government revenue without increases in taxes,” said Martin. “With a $14 trillion national debt to be addressed, projects like the $7 billion pipeline provide an alternative to tax and fee increases, which can be especially troublesome for Americans operating within a strict budgetary framework.

“Current plans from this Administration to pile billions in tax increases on small businesses and the U.S. energy industry concern us because higher operating costs will end up raising prices for consumers and will especially hurt those who are on fixed incomes like seniors,” said Martin. “This means seniors will spend more money at the grocery store, the gas station, and on monthly bills. The president is calling for tax increases to support job creating programs, yet government obstacles continue to delay projects like Keystone XL, which would create an estimated 340,000 jobs.   We believe that failing to capitalize on this project would be a significant policy blunder.”

The Keystone XL Pipeline has been delayed for three years pending the completion of a government environmental impact analysis. The U.S. State Department finished the analysis earlier this year, concluding that the pipeline poses no significant threat. The Obama Administration has promised to make a decision on the pipeline by the end of this year.

Canada has promised to move forward with developing the oil sands with or without approval of Keystone XL from the United States. Other options for moving the oil include trucking and shipping resources to the U.S., or putting it on tankers bound for China, who has already invested significant funds in oil sands development.

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