Contacts:
Matt Dempsey Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-9797
Katie Brown Katie_Brown@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-2160
Obama Keystone Decision Halts Creation of 20,000 Jobs
Obama Sides with Environmental Left Over Jobs, Economy, Energy Security
Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today commented on the Obama Administration's announcement that it will delay the Keystone pipeline decision until after the 2012 elections.
"President Obama has been going around the country saying 'we can't wait' for new jobs, yet his State Department announced today that it will delay the Keystone pipeline decision, putting off, and perhaps ultimately preventing, the creation of over 20,000 jobs immediately and 465,000 by 2035, including 14,400 jobs in Oklahoma," Senator Inhofe said.
"This decision is a clear indication that President Obama's job-killing global warming agenda is alive and well. Of course, the strongest opposition to the pipeline comes from outspoken global warming alarmists such as James Hansen, who was arrested this summer while protesting the pipeline at the White House. As another alarmist, Bill McKibben, said, 'There have been few even partial victories about global warming in recent years so [the Keystone decision] makes this an important day' and the delay 'will effectively kill the project.'
President Obama has sided with the environmental left over unions, whose members would welcome the thousands of jobs that would be created. He is also harming our efforts to achieve energy security. In his statement today, President Obama said that his administration will continue to work towards 'strengthening our nation's energy security' but his decision will do just the opposite. It will make us even more dependent on oil from the Middle East.
"Let's not forget that the President has taken full responsibility for the final decision on the Keystone pipeline: it is clear that he is stopping the creation of new jobs for Americans in an effort to appease his environmental base and ensure that they turn out for Election Day."
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