Washington, DC –Today the U.S. Senate voted to approve the payroll tax cut package that includes a provision to bypass environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would which would carry dirty tar sands oil 1,600 miles from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

In response, Maura Cowley, Executive Director of the Energy Action Coalition, a coalition of youth vote organizations issued the following statement:

“Big Oil’s cronies hijacked the payroll tax cut package to try to revive the dirty and dangerous Keystone XL pipeline. When this bill reaches the President’s desk, young voters expect President Obama to stand with the 99% and against Big Oil’s recklessness by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline once and for all.”

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Energy Action Coalition is a coalition of 50 youth-led environmental and social justice groups working together to build the youth clean energy and climate movement. Working with hundreds of campus and youth groups, dozens of youth networks, and hundreds of thousands of young people, Energy Action Coalition and its partners have united a burgeoning movement behind winning local victories and coordinating on state, regional, and national levels in the United States and Canada.