Michigan congressman John Moolenaar proposed an amendment at a recent House Appropriations budget hearing that he said supports affordable energy. The plan would prohibit the State Department from using taxpayer funds to stop the flow of energy through the Line 5 pipeline in the straits of Mackinac.
At the hearing, Moolenaar said the plan to bury the pipeline in an underground tunnel should move forward.
"However, nearly four years later, bureaucracy at the federal and state levels has delayed the construction of the tunnel and the high paying union jobs it would create," said Moolenaar at the Appropriations committee hearing in Washington DC.
Moolenaar mentioned that Michigan families rely on the Line 5 to power homes and that it creates affordable energy.
"My amendment will make it clear that this congress and the United States support affordable energy for people in the Midwest and that we stand with our neighbors in Canada to the support the free flow of energy," added Moolenaar.
In the end, Moolenaar’s amendment did not pass, even with Democratic support.
Sean McBrearty is with Oil and Water Don’t Mix and wants to see Line 5 shut down. He said the attempt to change the State Department budget is disappointing given recent court documents being made public.
"Enbridge’s expert in court actually agrees with the independent experts that shutting down Line 5 won’t have a big impact on gas prices," said McBrearty on a phone call with WCMU. "It’s been obvious for a long time that fossil fuel companies have an oversized impact in Washington DC."
Enbridge, the Canadian energy company that owns Line 5, said in a written statement shutting down Line 5 "would only add to the current disruption of the energy market, and would hurt small businesses and the hard-working families in Michigan and throughout the region, at a time when they can least afford it. That is in part why Enbridge is actively moving the Great Lakes Tunnel forward to ensure safe and reliable energy is available to support the region’s economy."
