To the editor: 

The answer to our letter that we sent on June 4 needs some clearing up as to the response to the article on June 7 by Mr. Nelson. Yes, we have done our research.

The report of 11,000 jobs was put out by TC Energy Corp. the Canadian Company building the pipeline. No where did it distinguish at that time whether full time or part time. Without the financial support from the U.S. government, it could not continue. The project labor agreement that T.C. Energy signed in August of 2020 with four labor unions promised the pipeline would create 42,000 jobs and provide $2 billion in total wages When our support was canceled, Sen. Steve Daines from Montana and Sen. Jim Risch from Idaho inserted a bill mandating a report into infrastructure investment and Jobs Act Biden signed into law. The report was to be released in 90 days, but was delayed over a year.

But let us go further examining, “and we quote”, what the Biden administration quietly admitted to in December of 2022. The report by the Department of Energy, “without any public announcement” , says that the Keystone XL project would have created between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs and would have a positive impact of between $3.4 to 9,6 Billion dollars, citing various studies. Also, during construction, it was determined 3,900 direct jobs and 21,050 total jobs during construction, which was expected to take two years.

Regardless of how you look at it, we look at it as a complete failure for the U.S. economy. Before this happened, we were energy independent. Now we import from countries that are not supportive of our country. Energy drives our economy and we are paying for it. Yes, Mr. Nelson, it is important to research reputable resources rather than depending on only Google for both sides for information.

 Fred and Jan Lenz

New Ulm