President missed the mark, XL Pipeline means more energy, jobs

Washington, D.C. – Creating jobs and getting energy from our friends should have been an easy decision, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who has long supported the Keystone XL Pipeline.  Enzi sees it as a way to put people back to work and to help end our dependence on foreign oil. Enzi issued the following statement after learning that the President would reject the pipeline permit:

“I don’t know how the president determined that creating jobs and moving toward energy independence are not in our national interest. In Wyoming, the energy industry has created high-paying jobs that thousands of people rely on. Putting more than 20,000 people to work across the country is a good thing. Canada is ready to help us lessen our reliance on places like the Middle East and Venezuela for our energy needs. Flipping the XL switch to ‘on’ should have been a no brainer.” 

The Keystone XL project has been under environmental review by the State Department for over three years. On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed into law a bill to, among other things, extend the payroll tax reduction until the end of February 2012.  Part of the bill required that the President decide within 60 days whether or not to grant the permit to allow TransCanada to build the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Senator Enzi cosponsored the legislation that was eventually included in the payroll tax bill. The only way the necessary permit would be denied is if it was shown that the pipeline was not in the national interest.  Both the House and the Senate have passed different bills supporting the project. 

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