New Study Confirms (Again): Keystone XL Would RAISE Gas Prices

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement after a study by the National Resources Defense Council showed once again that the Keystone XL pipeline would raise gas prices for American consumers. Kucinich has frequently argued this point on the House floor, in an editorial in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and in public statements.

"There was never any doubt that the Keystone XL pipeline would increase the price at the pump for consumers. In fact, TransCanada, the company that wants to build the pipeline, told Canadian regulators that the pipeline would allow TransCanada to raise the United States energy bill by $4 billion per year by limiting the supply of Canadian crude to Midwest refineries and rerouting it to Gulf Coast refineries.

"A foreign-owned oil company is playing us for fools. In order to convince Americans to accept a pipeline that will result in higher gas prices, we have been bombarded with a public relations campaign to convince us that the pipeline is a good idea.

"It may be a good idea to foreign investors, but the Keystone XL pipeline is a bad idea for American consumers, a bad idea for America's fledgling economy, a bad idea for our health and a bad idea for our environment," said Kucinich. "Say no to the Keystone tax."

Researchers at the Cornell University Global Labor Institute also published a report confirming that the Keystone XL Pipeline would increase U.S. gas prices by 10 to 20 cents per gallon across the U.S. The greatest price increase - twice as much according to one estimate - will occur in 15 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.