Obama Rejects Keystone XL
President Barack Obama on Wednesday issued a statementexplaining his denial of a pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline to carry petroleum from Canada to refineries in Texas and St. Louis. The White House last November delayed a final decision until after the 2012 election, citing the need for more review, despite the years-long State Department analysis of the project.
The Consumer Energy Alliance, an organization that works on behalf of increasing domestic energy supplies was “extremely disappointed” with the President’s decision.
In response, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) Executive Vice President Michael Whatley issued the following statement: “CEA is extremely disappointed with the Administration’s announcement. It is mystifying that they would make this announcement less than 24 hours after the President’s own Council on Jobs and Competitiveness specifically called for growth in the energy sector to increase job creation. With gasoline prices at record annual highs and Iran threatening the Straits of Hormuz, there is simply no excuse for the Administration not to move forward with this project now.”
Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) also expressed extreme disappointment in the Obama Administration’s rejection of the project, saying it could have put thousands of Americans to
“President Obama missed an opportunity today to secure our energy future with North American energy and create American jobs,” Gardner said. “This is a shovel ready project that is all set to be built. We could get started on it today. Instead, the President chose to be politically self-serving and sacrificed the creation of 20,000 American jobs.
The President’s decision comes amid news that seventy percent of American voters favor increased access to U.S. oil and natural gas resources, and similar numbers believe more oil and natural gas development would provide major benefits to the nation, including more U.S. jobs, according to a new poll released Monday. The telephone poll of 1,005 registered voters was conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Petroleum Institute. Large majorities of those surveyed believe that increased U.S. oil and natural gas development could lead to more American jobs (87 percent), help the U.S. economy and reduce consumer energy costs (83 percent), increase the nation’s energy security (82 percent), and deliver more revenue to the government (72 percent).
Farm Bureau supports a comprehensive energy policy that includes all sources of energy and the necessary infrastructure needed to enhance U.S. energy security.
