(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., AP) – Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder is among more than 20 Republican lieutenant governors urging approval of the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline.

The Republican Lieutenant Governors Association said in a letter to President Barack Obama that more pipeline capacity is needed to tap oil supplies from formations in Canada, Montana and North Dakota.

The lieutenant governors contend construction of the pipeline would support thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs and would directly benefit many states.

Besides Kinder, the letter is signed by lieutenant governors from Nevada, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.