Hours Into New Congress, Obama Opposes Keystone Legislation

Well That Didn’t Take Long…

• It didn’t take long for the American people to see the job-creating priorities of the new Republican congress. It also didn’t take long for the American people to see President Obama stand against commonsense legislation to approve the Keystone Pipeline.

• The Keystone Pipeline is a shovel-ready project that would create thousands of American jobs and get us closer to energy independence. Yet the Obama Administration has stalled it at every turn.

• Perhaps most galling is the fact that a majority of Americans support this project—including 40 percent of Democrats. This is not a partisan issue.

• Yesterday marked the first clear contrast between a Republican congress that seeks to create jobs and a disengaged president who is simply trying to run out the clock.

The White House Announced Yesterday That President Obama Would Veto Legislation Approving The Keystone Pipeline. President Obama would veto a bill that would allow for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, the White House said Tuesday. ‘If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn’t sign it,’ said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.” (Katie Zezima, “White House: Obama Would Veto Keystone Bill,” The Washington Post, 1/6/15)

The Pipeline Would Create Thousands Of American Jobs. “The final State Department review found that the pipeline would create upward of 42,000 jobs during the construction period alone, and it would do so without a significant environmental impact, according to the State Department’s report. Economists, meanwhile, have found that the pipeline would create 20,000 manufacturing and construction jobs and an additional 118,000 spin-off jobs. There is no lack of evidence to justify Keystone’s capacity to fuel job creation, as President Obama claimed last year. Our companies’ jobs would count among those 42,000—real names and faces to us.” (Albert Huber and Peter Bowe, “The Keystone Pipeline Would Create Thousands Of Jobs,” Forbes, 2/7/14)

56 Percent Of Americans Support Building The Keystone Pipeline—Including 40 Percent Of Democrats. “A 56 percent majority of Americans support building the pipeline to transport oil from Canada through the United States to oil refineries in Texas. Eighty-three percent of Republicans, 53 percent of independents and 40 percent of Democrats are in favor of it.” (Ariel Edwards-Levy, “Most Americans Support Keystone XL Pipeline,” Huffington Post, 11/19/14)