Keystone XL campaigns prove bonanza for lobbyists

three months of the year from US$1.8-million during the same period a year earlier, Senate records show. The American Jewish Committee lobbying costs rose to US$40,000 from US$30,000.

They are among 48 groups that disclosed in filings last week that they were lobbying on Calgary-based TransCanada Corp.’s proposed US$5.3billion pipeline, which would bring oil derived from tar sands in Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Others include construction equipment manufacturers such as Deere & Co., labouyr unions such as the Laborers International Union of North America, and environmental groups such as the League of Conservation Voters — and the government of Canada.

“Because it’s such a highprofile issue and it has such symbolism, it’s become a fullemployment program for K Street,” said Bill Allison, editorial director at the Sunlight Foundation, a Washingtonbased watchdog. Many lobbyists have offices on K Street in the District of Columbia.

All but two of the groups — the League of Conservation Voters and Greenpeace — appear to be in support of the pipeline. That includes oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Valero Energy Corp., which all registered as lobbying on the issue, according to the disclosure reports filed with the U.S. Senate. All own refineries in the Gulf Coast that could benefit from the Keystone oil, according to Oil Change International, a Washington-based advocacy group that opposes the pipeline.

Some of the top lobbying firms in the U.S. are involved. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP counts Shell among its clients. Podesta Group Inc. lobbies for BP PLC. The BGR Group lobbies for Chevron Corp.

“The vast array of lobbyists engaged on Keystone owes partly to the immense geographic and policy-topic spread of the pipeline,” said Rogan Kersh, a lobbying expert and provost of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Other advocates that have registered to lobby for the pipeline include the American Jewish Committee, better known for its support of the state of Israel and on behalf of Jews worldwide.

Keystone would help reduce “U.S. dependence on oil from hostile or unstable foreign sources,” said Kenneth Bandler, a spokesman for the committee. “The Keystone XL pipeline is vital toward strengthening America’s energy security, and also important for our relations with Canada, our dependable, democratic ally and neighbour.”