November 6, 2015

KXL Decision: Politics Rule Over Jobs, Safety, Security and Common Sense

President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline project clearly is a decision based on politics and not on what is good for America.

Keystone XL was ruled by President Obama’s own State Department to have no significant environmental impact, would have created at least 42,000 jobs throughout America, and brought significant long term tax revenue and growth to communities along the pipeline route.  Keystone XL would have safely brought much needed crude oil from Canada and the Bakken region of the U.S. to refiners for American consumers. Polls show that Americans want the pipeline, and the legislation to approve the project was passed by both houses of Congress with large bipartisan majorities,

In delaying and rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama has put politics before the best interests of the country. Rejecting Keystone breaks two promises the president made—to put jobs and growth first and to seek bipartisan solutions.  

This needless decision, based in part on the President trying to improve his political position before next month’s international climate policy negotiations in Paris, is the latest in a number of administration actions that have undermined America’s energy revolution, slowed growth, and cost good-paying jobs.  It is politics at its worst – and Americans are paying the price.