Born Says Employees Of Michels Corporation Impacted By Halted Pipeline Project

(Beaver Dam) State Representative Mark Born says employees of a Dodge County company were impacted by President Joe Biden’s (quote) “reckless decision” to halt the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Born says thousands of good-paying, family sustaining jobs at Michels Corporation, based in Brownsville, would have been supported by the project. He says according to those involved in the industry, as many as two-thousand laborers, operators and welders from across Wisconsin were set to work on the pipeline over the summer. The Beaver Dam Republican says that was all wiped out on Biden’s first day in office.

Read Born’s full press release on defending Wisconsin’s jobs:

The past year has been difficult for the people of Wisconsin and the nation as a whole. Government mandated shutdowns and restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have put businesses and the livelihoods of our friends and neighbors in jeopardy. The impact has been far reaching and may not be fully understood for some time. During this difficult period, we should be doing everything we can to ensure we are advocating for Wisconsin businesses and jobs, so families can keep the lights on and keep food on the table.

Protecting Wisconsin jobs shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Unfortunately, some seem content with risking jobs. Last week, President Joe Biden was in Milwaukee to host a town hall. That same night, Governor Tony Evers delivered his budget address. There was a lot of talk about getting the economy up and running again with big-government programs, and other top-down approaches, but I didn’t hear anything about the thousands of jobs and billions of dollars President Biden cost the Wisconsin economy with the flick of his pen when he halted the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office.

Workers at Michels Corporation, an international energy and infrastructure contractor based in Brownsville were some of those impacted by the President’s reckless decision. Thousands of good-paying, family-sustaining Wisconsin jobs would have been supported by this project. According to those involved in the industry, as many as 2,000 laborers, operators, and welders from across Wisconsin were set to work on the project over the summer. But it was all wiped out on President Biden’s first day in office.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to faze Governor Evers. During his budget address, the Governor didn’t say a word about the thousands of workers and their families, and how they’d be affected by this decision. In fact, he advocated for a budget that included billions more in spending, massive tax increases, and liberal wish list items that would surely never be approved. He advocated for green jobs that he hopes will exist in the future and neglected to say a word about the Wisconsin jobs that exist right now.

Governor Evers had a chance to stand up for Wisconsin businesses, jobs, and families. Unfortunately, he declined to do so. Now, because of an irresponsible decision by President Biden, Wisconsin has lost out on thousands of good-paying, family-supporting jobs, some of them right here in the 39th Assembly District. We need a leader to stand up for the people of Wisconsin, especially during these difficult times.