Energy companies already have the permits approved to drill/frack. he might be banning fracking NOW by not approving permits, but the energy companies have enough permits approved to frack for the next 50 years.
It stops nothing.
Oh, and Alberta/Canada is suing the US for the pipeline. So expect Biden to walk that back. He just wants the headlines to try to improve his already INCREDIBLY low approval (he's low 30's)
Even more good news - existing contracts will have to be honored, full-stop. US Government contracts are usually per-project or per-period, and the latter can go anywhere from six months to 10 years or more. Betting the Keystone XL contracts are at least 1-2 years renewable, easily.
Put this way: If the Asterisk-In-Chief tries to put a halt to the pipeline before all of the contracts reach break-points, he puts the US Government in Breach Of Contract; the GSA will have to pay not only the original contracted costs, but likely additional penalties and legal fees as well.
BTW, same goes for the wall. He can stop new work, but he cannot stop existing work. Even the US Government can't just screw over companies like that - at least not without making said companies and their lawyers very rich.
Energy companies already have the permits approved to drill/frack. he might be banning fracking NOW by not approving permits, but the energy companies have enough permits approved to frack for the next 50 years.
It stops nothing.
Oh, and Alberta/Canada is suing the US for the pipeline. So expect Biden to walk that back. He just wants the headlines to try to improve his already INCREDIBLY low approval (he's low 30's)
Even more good news - existing contracts will have to be honored, full-stop. US Government contracts are usually per-project or per-period, and the latter can go anywhere from six months to 10 years or more. Betting the Keystone XL contracts are at least 1-2 years renewable, easily.
Put this way: If the Asterisk-In-Chief tries to put a halt to the pipeline before all of the contracts reach break-points, he puts the US Government in Breach Of Contract; the GSA will have to pay not only the original contracted costs, but likely additional penalties and legal fees as well.
BTW, same goes for the wall. He can stop new work, but he cannot stop existing work. Even the US Government can't just screw over companies like that - at least not without making said companies and their lawyers very rich.
I expect Biden would rather foot us with the bill for compensation to the contractors than allow the existing contracts to be completed.