Well who would have guessed the pipeline wasn’t about the environment at all, and that it was just a cover for more underhanded dealing by the Obama administration. What does President Obama have to gain by rejecting Keystone XL and who else stands to benefit from his decision?
The Blaze – Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC railroad — a unit of Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska based Berkshire Hathaway — would be among those poised to reap sizable gains by the administration’s decision to reject TransCanada’s oil pipeline permit. Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 22% (or, $34 billion share) of the 32,000 mile line in 2009, shortly after Obama was elected.
Krista York-Wooley, a spokeswoman for Burlington Northern told Bloomberg, “Whatever people bring to us, we’re ready to haul. If Keystone XL “doesn’t happen, we’re here to haul.”
While the rail option is more expensive it would minimize environmental impact. However, it would also worsen greenhouse gas emissions.
On Tuesday evenings GBTV, Glenn Beck connected the dots. When it comes to the Keystone oil pipeline and Buffett’s Burlington Northern, all roads seem to lead to Nebraska.
GBTV uncovered a startling connection between Berkshire Hathaway’s home-state and that state’s Senator Ben Nelson, who voted against the Keystone XL and lobbied that it be re-routed to avoid Nebraska. Ironically, the Senator’s attempts to thwart the pipeline were done while he himself maintained his state would heartily welcome the jobs created from the Keystone project. While Nelson’s position then seems counterintuitive, add to it the fact that he is heavily invested in Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
GBTV revealed that from 2007 to 2012 Nelson contributed $27,000 to the company itself and according to a recent financial disclosure statement from 2008, he owned between $1.5 and $6 million of the company’s stock – his largest investment in any one company to date.
Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe PAC in turn contributed $5,000 to Senator Nelson’s Nebraska Leadership PAC and Berkshire Hathaway employees have reportedly long supported the senator, contributing at least $75,550 to the Nebraska Democrat over the course of his political career according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Not coincidentally, Senator Nelson penned an op-ed column on March 5, 2012 entitled “Behind Those High Gas Prices.” As you can imagine, the senator was quick to tell Nebraskans that the spike “has nothing to do with the Keystone Pipeline” and also “isn’t a result of domestic oil production.” Below is an excerpt from Nelson’s column:
First, the rapid rise isn’t a result of domestic oil production. We’re producing more oil in the U.S. now than we have since 2003. As a matter of fact, under the previous Administration domestic production of crude declined every year, whereas since 2009 domestic production has increased every year.
Second, this has nothing to do with the Keystone Pipeline. The price of oil is set on the World Market and is impacted by a host of factors – including unrest in oil producing nations. It isn’t a simple supply and demand pricing issue.
He went on to write the U.S. has in fact demonstrated “the lowest demand for gasoline in 15 years” but the price of oil “has still gone up.”
Helping to squash the Keystone pipeline clearly won’t help matters either.
Not coincidentally, Senator Nelson penned an op-ed column on March 5, 2012 entitled “Behind Those High Gas Prices.” As you can imagine, the senator was quick to tell Nebraskans that the spike “has nothing to do with the Keystone Pipeline” and also “isn’t a result of domestic oil production.” Below is an excerpt from Nelson’s column:
First, the rapid rise isn’t a result of domestic oil production. We’re producing more oil in the U.S. now than we have since 2003. As a matter of fact, under the previous Administration domestic production of crude declined every year, whereas since 2009 domestic production has increased every year.
Second, this has nothing to do with the Keystone Pipeline. The price of oil is set on the World Market and is impacted by a host of factors – including unrest in oil producing nations. It isn’t a simple supply and demand pricing issue.
He went on to write the U.S. has in fact demonstrated “the lowest demand for gasoline in 15 years” but the price of oil “has still gone up.”
Nelson’s involvement in overhauling financial regulation was also explored. Among the considerations during a tentative deal to set restrictions on trading derivatives, was a substantial provision being lobbied for by Buffett that would have buffered his company from financial blows. The WSJadds:
The provision, sought by Berkshire and pushed by Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson in the Senate Agriculture Committee, would largely exempt existing derivatives contracts from the proposed rules. Previously, the legislation could have allowed regulators to require that companies such as Nebraska-based Berkshire put aside large sums to cover potential losses.
The article adds that the change “thus would aid Berkshire, which has a $63 billion derivatives portfolio, according to Barclays Capital.”
As GBTV discovered, Nelson has also engaged in a series of votes, including in favor of TARP funds, that have benefited Buffett in some way.
By removing the possibility of transporting oil via the Keystone pipeline, the Burlington Northern railroad has “conveniently” been able to fill the void, thus Senator Nelson and Berkshire Hathaway stand to reap substantial dividends. Likewise, Buffett ensured financial security and prosperity for his new railroad and will likely pay his Democratic benefactors in kind.
Wonder how much kick-back Obama gets for his part in this scam?
