A group of Republican senators are taking steps to block President Joe Biden’s executive actions to rejoin the Paris climate agreement and revoke a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Their announcements come after Biden took actions to roll back former President Donald Trump’s decisions to withdraw from the Obama-era United Nations treaty and grant a permit to allow for the construction of the oil pipeline system that traverses through the U.S.-Canada border. Trump had previously criticized the Paris agreement for negatively impacting the U.S. economy and unbalanced standards between nations.
“It’s only day one, and with the stroke of a pen, Biden has already taken steps to kill American energy projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline which is critical to energy producing states like Montana,” Daines said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This project will create thousands of jobs, generate tax revenue for local communities, promote North American energy security and independence, and it is the safest and most environmentally friendly way to transport oil. We must do all that we can to ensure construction moves forward.”
The project, according to Daines, is expected to provide about 71,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, Daines took issue with the Paris Agreement for being “poorly negotiated, fatally flawed” while characterizing it as “a bad deal for American families everywhere.”
“Rejoining this agreement places our country at a competitive disadvantage and will lead to higher energy prices for Montana families and job loss in a time when rural economies are devastated, all for minimal benefit,“ Daines said. ”At the very least, I urge President Biden to do what the Obama administration refused to do and submit the Paris Agreement to the Senate for consideration as required under the Constitution.”
The United States formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement on Nov. 4. The agreement was adopted by 196 parties in Paris, on Dec. 12, 2015, and entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016. President Barrack Obama at the time claimed that the agreement was not a treaty and did not send the agreement for review in the Senate as required by the U.S. Constitution.
The legislation and resolution planned by Republicans are expected to face difficulties for their passage as the Senate is controlled by Democrats as Vice President Kamala Harris hold the tie-breaking vote.
