165+ Business Leaders Call for Keystone XL Approval

Oct 10, 2013 12:00 PM ET

Calgary, AB, October 10, 2013 /3BL Media/ – TransCanada Corporation (TSX, NYSE: TRP) (TransCanada) agrees with dozens and dozens of top business leaders who are speaking out in favour of the Keystone XL pipeline project.  The CEOs, presidents and chairpersons representing a diverse group of industries, including members of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable and U.S. Chamber of Commerce have sent a letter to President Barack Obama emphasizing the importance of Keystone XL to the broader U.S. economy and urging him to approve construction of the 1,179-mile pipeline project that has now been under government review for more than five years. 

“As these prominent business leaders said in their letter to President Obama a positive decision on Keystone XL would materially affect both the rate of economic growth and America’s competitiveness,” said Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and chief executive officer. 

The letter makes the point to the President that: ‘Studies by your administration have demonstrated that construction of Keystone XL will directly result in the investment of $3.3 billion in the U.S. and support tens of thousands of American jobs, across diversified sectors, which will in turn add billions of dollars to the national and regional economies. Approving this investment will send a powerful signal of this Administration’s commitment to getting America back to work.’

Girling points to the U.S. Department of State’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Keystone XL released last spring that stated the project would support the creation of over 40,000 jobs in America.  This figure includes 9,000 construction jobs – work for welders, heavy equipment operators, labourers, pipefitters and many more.  TransCanada is currently winding down construction of its Gulf Coast Project, a pipeline that will transport American and Canadian crude oil from the Cushing, Oklahoma hub to Texas refineries.  That project employed an additional 4,000 workers in the United States. 

One message Girling has consistently delivered in recent years is the fact Keystone XL will enhance U.S. energy security – pushing out foreign oil from unstable, unfriendly countries that do not have strong environmental regulations and do not support American values.  The over 165 business leaders who signed the letter to President Obama agree:

“It (Keystone XL) would also enhance America’s competitiveness by helping to realize the long-standing goal of increased North American energy security, without spending a single dollar of U.S. government funds. A strong, integrated energy distribution system that spans the continent promises to be a competitive advantage for the United States for years to come. The flow of oil, gas and electricity both north and south among the United States, Canada and Mexico directly benefits Americans by creating efficiencies and reducing overall energy prices for households and businesses. Plentiful, affordable energy could rejuvenate the U.S. industrial sector, and encourage investment.”

The letter also noted that Keystone XL would be subject to nearly 60 special conditions set by regulators to minimize risks associated with the project and the ultimate net environmental impact of the pipeline would be minimal, as was recognized by the Department of State in separate Environmental Impact Statements issued since 2010.  

To read the full letter sent to President Obama, please open this embedded link:

Below is the complete list of business leaders who signed the letter to President Obama:

Ajita Rajendra, CEO, A. O. Smith Corporation

Joseph Gingo, Chairman, President and CEO, A. Schulman Inc.

Enrique Santacana, North America CEO, ABB, Inc.

Kellie Johnson, President and CEO, ACE Clearwater Enterprises

Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President and CEO, AGCO Corporation

John McGlade, Chairman, President and CEO, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

James L. Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO, AK Steel Corporation

Richard Harshman, Chairman, President and CEO, Allegheny Technologies Incorporated

Hannah Kain, President and CEO, ALOM Technologies Corporation

Lee Styslinger, III, Chairman and CEO, Altec, Inc.

Nicholas K. Akins, President and CEO, American Electric Power

Al Walker, President and CEO, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

Joe Puishys, CEO, Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Michael Rippey, President and CEO, ArcelorMittal USA

John Eaves, President and CEO, Arch Coal, Inc.

Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T

Dean A. Scarborough, Chairman, President and CEO, Avery Dennison Corporation

John A. Hayes, Chairman, President and CEO, Ball Corporation

Tony Raimondo, Chairman, Behlen Mfg.Co.

William Belden, Jr., Chairman, The Belden Brick Company

Martin Swarbrick, President and CEO, Bison Gear & Engineering

Laurence D. Fink, Chairman and CEO, BlackRock

W. James McNerney, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO, The Boeing Company

James R. Verrier, President and CEO, BorgWarner Inc.

Dustan McCoy, Chairman and CEO, Brunswick Corporation

Charles Wetherington, President, BTE Technologies, Inc.

Ken Jacob, President and CEO, Cajun Industries, LLC

Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO, C. V. Starr & Co., Inc.

Gregory Page, CEO and Chairman, Cargill, Incorporated

Peter Perez, President, Carter Products Company, Inc.

Rich Tobin, CEO, CNH Industrial N.V. and COO, NAFTA Region, CNH Industrial

Douglas R. Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar Inc.

Stephen R. Wilson, Chairman, President and CEO, CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

Lee A. McIntire, Chairman and CEO, CH2M HILL

Walt Bettinger, President and CEO, The Charles Schwab Corporation

John S. Watson, Chairman and CEO, Chevron Corporation

Colin Marshall, President and CEO, Cloud Peak Energy, Inc.

Rich Lavin, President and CEO, Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc.

Francis Malecha, President and CEO, Compass Minerals International

Ryan M. Lance, Chairman and CEO, ConocoPhillips

Mark Medley, President and CEO, Control Technology, Inc.

Douglas Stotlar, President and CEO, Con-way Inc.

Jeff Edwards, Chairman, President and CEO, Cooper Standard Automotive

Eric C. Fast, CEO, Crane Co.

John Conway, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, Crown Holdings, Inc.

J. Michael Lawrie, President and CEO, CSC

Aelred Kurtenbach, Chairman of the Board, Daktronics, Inc.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., President and CEO, Danaher Corporation

Harold L. Yoh, III, Chairman and CEO, The Day & Zimmermann Group, Inc.

Michael Mack, Jr., President, Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division, Deere & Company

John Richels, President and CEO, Devon Energy Corporation

Gerald Letendre, President, Diamond Casting & Machine Co. Inc.

Andrew N. Liveris, Chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical Company

James P. Rogers, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Eastman Chemical Company

Alexander M. Cutler, Chairman and CEO, Eaton

Douglas Baker, Chairman and CEO, Ecolab Inc.

Al Jennings, Chairman and CEO, EFCO Corp.

Barry L. Allerd, Chairman and CEO, Elkins Constructors Inc.

David Farr, Chairman and CEO, Emerson

David F. Melcher, CEO and President, Exelis Inc.

Rex W. Tillerson, Chairman and CEO, ExxonMobil Corporation

Jay Bender, President, Falcon Plastics, Inc.

Michael Heneka, President, Faurecia North America, Faurecia USA Holdings, Inc.

Richard Wilkey, CEO, Fisher Barton, Inc.

David T. Seaton, Chairman and CEO, Fluor Corporation

Richard C. Adkerson, President and CEO, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

Maggie Wilderotter, Chairman and CEO, Frontier Communications

Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman and CEO, General Electric Company

Patrick J. McHale, President and CEO, Graco Inc.

Jim Ryan, Chairman, President and CEO, W.W. Grainger, Inc.

James H. Roberts, President and CEO, Granite Construction, Inc.

Stephen Chipman, CEO, Grant Thornton LLP

James Owens, President and CEO, H.B. Fuller Company

William M. Brown, President and CEO, Harris Corporation

Liam E. McGee, Chairman, President and CEO, The Hartford

Karla Aaron, President, Hialeah Metal Spinning, Inc.

Hannes Hunschofsky, Executive Vice President, Global Operations, Hoerbiger Compression Technology Holding

David M. Cote, Chairman and CEO, Honeywell International

C. Michael Petters, President and CEO, Huntington Ingalls Industries

Michael Lamach, Chairman and CEO, Ingersoll Rand Company

Michael I. Roth, Chairman and CEO, The Interpublic Group

Kirk Liddell, President and CEO, Irex Corporation

Denise L. Ramos, CEO and President, ITT Corporation

Duncan Gillis, President and CEO, John Crane Group Corporation - a division of Smiths Group PLC

Carlos Cardoso, Chairman, President and CEO, Kennametal Inc.

Gage Kent, Chairman and CEO, Kent Corporation

Paul J. Diaz, CEO, Kindred Healthcare

John B. Veihmeyer, Chairman and CEO, KPMG L.L.P.

Flemming Bjoernslev, President and CEO, Lanxess Corporation

Denton J. Nordhues, President, Leeco Steel Products Inc.

Christopher Mapes, President and CEO, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

Ed Auslander, CEO, LORD Corporation

Jim Gallogly, CEO, LyondellBasell Industries

Glen Tellock, Chairman, President and CEO, The Manitowoc Company, Inc.

Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr., Executive Chairman, Marathon Oil Corporation

Gary R. Heminger, President and CEO, Marathon Petroleum Corporation

Drew Greenblatt, President and Owner, Marlin Steel Wire Products LLC

C. Howard Nye, President and CEO, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.

Susan Marvin, President, Marvin Windows and Doors

Timothy Wadhams, CEO, Masco Corporation

Al Lubrano, President, Materion Technical Materials

Stephen M. Johnson, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, McDermott International, Inc.

John Luke, Chairman and CEO, MeadWestvaco

Mark A. Murray, Co-CEO and Vice Chairman, Meijer

Ike Evans, Chairman, CEO and President, Meritor, Inc.

William Lambert, Chairman, President and CEO, Mine Safety Appliances Company

Michael A. DeCola, CEO, Mississippi Lime Company

Thomas Burke, President and CEO, Modine Manufacturing Company

Craig Morrison, Chairman, President and CEO, Momentive Performance Materials Holdings LLC

Greg Brown, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions Inc.

John Orr, President and CEO, Myers Industries, Inc.

Thomas C. Nelson, Chairman, President and CEO, National Gypsum Company

George Martin, President and CEO, NewPage Corporation

Jim Robo, President and CEO, NextEra Energy, Inc.

Michael Hilton, President and CEO, Nordson Corporation

Mark S. Towe, CEO, Oldcastle, Inc.

Arnaud de Weert, President, O-I North America, Owens-Illinois, Inc.

Roy Paulson, President, Paulson Manufacturing Corporation

Gregory H. Boyce, Chairman and CEO, Peabody Energy Corporation

Art E. Favre, President, Performance Contractors, Inc.

Bruce E. Grewcock, Chairman and CEO, Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc.

Greg C. Garland, Chairman and CEO, Phillips 66

Stephen Newlin, Chairman, President and CEO, PolyOne Corporation

Dyke Messinger, President and CEO, Power Curbers, Inc.

Charles Bunch, Chairman and CEO, PPG Industries Inc.

Dennis M. Nally, Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited

Thomas J. Quinlan, III, President and CEO, R. R. Donnelley

Richard A. Smith, Chairman, CEO and President, Realogy Holding Corp.

Jay Pittas, President and CEO, Remy International

James Rubright, Chairman and CEO, RockTenn

Keith Nosbusch, Chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automation

Robert Sanchez, President and CEO, Ryder System, Inc.

John Crowe, President and CEO, Saint-Gobain and Certainteed Corporations

Christopher A. Viehbacher, CEO, Sanofi

William Dempsey, President and COO, Sargent & Greenleaf, Inc.

James H. Goodnight, CEO, SAS Institute Inc.

Tamara Lundgren, President and CEO, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.

Marvin Odum, President, Shell Oil Company

Eric Spiegel, President and CEO, Siemens Corporation

Wes Lucas, CEO, SIRVA

Poul Jeppesen, President and CEO, SKF USA Inc.

Nicholas Pinchuk, Chairman and CEO, Snap-on Incorporated

Charles Schmitt, President, SSAB Americas

John F. Lundgren, Chairman and CEO, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

James P. Hackett, Vice Chair and CEO, Steelcase Inc.

Walter Rosebrough, President and CEO, STERIS Corporation

Stewart McMillan, President, Task Force Tips, Inc.

Gregg Sherrill, Chairman and CEO, Tenneco Inc.

Ronald DeFeo, Chairman and CEO, Terex Corporation

Scott C. Donnelly, Chairman, President and CEO, Textron Inc.

Ward Timken, Jr., Chairman of the Board, The Timken Company

Jerry Speyer, Chairman and Co-CEO, Tishman Speyer

Jay S. Fishman, Chairman and CEO, The Travelers Companies, Inc.

Michael Batten, Chairman and CEO, Twin Disc, Incorporated

George R. Oliver, CEO, Tyco

Mario Longhi, President and CEO, United States Steel Corporation

Louis Chênevert, Chairman and CEO, United Technologies Corporation

Alan B. Miller, Chairman and CEO, Universal Health Services, Inc.

James Metcalf, Chairman, President and CEO, USG Corporation

Mary Andringa, President and CEO, Vermeer Corporation

Dennis Slagle, Executive Vice President, Volvo Group Trucks Sales and Marketing Americas, Volvo Group North America

David Steiner, President and CEO, Waste Management

John J. Engel, Chairman, President and CEO, WESCO International, Inc.

John F. Barrett, Chairman, President and CEO, Western & Southern Financial Group

Alan S. Armstrong, President and CEO, The Williams Companies, Inc.

Della Williams, President and CEO, Williams-Pyro, Inc.

Bruce Pulkkinen, CEO, Windham Millwork, Inc.

Stephen P. Holmes, Chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

 

With more than 60 years' experience, TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure including natural gas and oil pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. TransCanada operates a network of natural gas pipelines that extends more than 68,500 kilometres (42,500 miles), tapping into virtually all major gas supply basins in North America. TransCanada is one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services with more than 400 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. A growing independent power producer, TransCanada owns or has interests in over 11,800 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States. TransCanada is developing one of North America's largest oil delivery systems. TransCanada's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. For more information visit: www.transcanada.com or check us out on Twitter @TransCanada or http://blog.transcanada.com.

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