U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich delivers statement to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Video Screen Shot

U.S SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., voted Thursday against advancing legislation to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline during a markup in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Heinrich, who also is a member of the Climate Action Task Force, is a lead proponent of reversing the effects of climate change and an advocate for developing homegrown energy resources. He cited that according to the U.S. State Department’s Environmental Impact Statement, the Keystone XL Pipeline would create a mere 35 to 50 permanent jobs, yet more than 18,000 new clean energy jobs were announced in the third quarter of 2014. 

“My fear is that by making Keystone the lynch pin of American energy policy, we are locking ourselves into a policy that fully embraces energy imports and extremely high levels of relative carbon pollution,” Heinrich said. “A vote against Keystone sends the signal that our government is taking the science of climate change and risk analysis seriously, and that the smarter investments are in the low-carbon and sustainable fuels of the future.”

VIDEO: Watch Sen. Heinrich’s statement here.