Inspector General Launches Investigation Into Keystone XL Approval Process

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http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/11/07/363111/inspector-general-launches-investigation-into-keystone-xl-approval-process/

In response to a congressional request, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General has launched a review of the Keystone XL pipeline approval process. The State Department is tasked with conducting the environmental review of TransCanada’s proposed tar sands pipeline from Canada to Texas for a Presidential Permit decision. Beginning with the Bush administration, the process has been largely outsourced to a contractor chosen and paid for by TransCanada, with only a single staffer overseeing the work. Meanwhile, lobbyists with close ties to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have aggressively pushed for approval on behalf of the foreign oil company. The request for an investigation was made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and eleven Democratic members of the House of Representatives.

(pdf)
http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Special-Review-Keystone-XL-Pipeline-Nov-2011.pdf

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), who was the only member of Congress to attend yesterday’s anti-Keystone rally outside the White House, responds: “The recent allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest are disconcerting, and I appreciate that the Office of Inspector General is investigating the State Department’s review process. As stated in a previous letter to the President, I ask that he withhold any final decision on the pipeline until the investigation is complete.”
http://cohen.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1679


Keystone XL Pipeline Decision to Be Investigated
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Senator Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont, was one of the principal authors of the Congressional letter demanding an independent investigation of the State Department’s handling of the pipeline decision.

“I appreciate the inspector general’s responsiveness to our request and the willingness to treat this important matter, and the allegations of conflicts of interests, with the seriousness it deserves,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement on Monday. “I once again urge President Obama to defer any decision on the pipeline until the State Department investigation has been completed.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/science/earth/inquiry-into-keystone-xl-pipeline-permit-process.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

[Vincardog]

1. We have to end the monetary pollution of our politics before their pollution ends us.