Obama Administration Slams GOP for Forcing Keystone Approval

The Keystone Pipeline project was expected to create tens of thousands of high paying jobs in the oil industry. The project itself would create 20,000 construction jobs.

But it was just a big pipe dream.

(Bob McCarty)

Barack Obama refused to approve the project in 2011 despite the fact that gas prices hit a record high last year under his failed leadership.

Now the Obama State Department is bashing House Republicans for forcing Keystone approval.
The Hill reported:

The State Department is bashing House GOP legislation to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The legislation, which Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) is pushing, “imposes narrow time constraints and creates automatic mandates that prevent an informed decision,” Kerri-Ann Jones, the State Department’s Keystone point woman, says in written testimony set to be delivered to a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel Wednesday morning.

Terry’s legislation would put the final verdict on the pipeline into the hands of the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), not the State Department. The bill instructs FERC to issue a permit and limits its discretion to reject the project.

House GOP leadership is weighing attaching the bill to upcoming legislation to extend the payroll tax cut for the rest of the year in an effort to overturn Obama’s decision last week to reject the pipeline.

#1 January 25, 2012 at 6:28 am
Liz commented:

If the Keystone actually gets built (without Obama’s approval), Obama may send his union thugs to blow up/sabotage the pipeline. Then Democrats can blame the big, bad oil companies and Obama and his administration can do nothing for months to contain the spill as it gets worse. And we’ll see many photos of oil covered animals in the media. Then Obama can give GM another $50 billion taxpayer dollars and we can all get a government subsidy to buy a Volt explodes and is made in China.
#2 January 25, 2012 at 7:27 am
ouldbollix commented:

Our so called conservative cowards in the house will never have the balls to push this through.
Bunch of pansies.
#3 January 25, 2012 at 7:30 am
DMartyr commented:

Reject the project but then feign pressure and approve it.

It’s a win-win for Obama.

If the pipeline fails at any point, he can blame GOP and remind everyone he was against it in the first place.

If it is a success, he’ll take full credit.
#4 January 25, 2012 at 7:33 am
greener commented:

Migosh, they’ve only had 3 years to review and approve applications. Why all the rush. I believe DOS approved the application, then BHO rejected it and allowed them to start over.
#5 January 25, 2012 at 7:59 am
Finncrisp commented:

Last night, dear leader promised to open up leasing of oil and gas, virtually everywhere in the lower 48. Yet not one mention of adding 1700 miles of safe pipeline to the 50,000 miles of safe pipeline already in place. The notion that a pipeline now takes decades of study is the biggest whopper I’ve heard in a long time.

His premise is do nothing until we are in total demise. The Demomarxist party clearly has only misery to offer. More State control, more regulation, more taxes, more class warfare, & more unions.
#6 January 25, 2012 at 8:07 am
John Fembup commented:

“narrow time constraints and creates automatic mandates that prevent an informed decision,” Kerri-Ann Jones, the State Department’s Keystone point woman”

Oh, yeah? The “informed decision” madame, is to build the damn pipeline.

Obstructionism from the White House and its minions such as this Kerri-Ann Jones, simply proves again, what we already know to be true. That is, this White House says one thing (to deflect public opinion) and does another (whatever it wants to do, by whatever means necessary legal or not). Any school child knows that’s simply lying.

In the “State of the Union” speech last night, Obama stated that “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy”

Do these words include Canadian oil? How do they not? Yet Obama’s actions are to exclude it. Obama says one thing and does the opposite. Obama continues to push his dishonestly-named “hope” on us – a “hope” that we can no longer believe in, because he has demonstrated it’s a lie.
#7 January 25, 2012 at 8:13 am
#1AMERICAN commented:

buck fobama the anti christ hating what america stands for….he already has enough illegal money to do what ever he wants when he is out of office so he doesn’t give a crap….just words from a telepromptor….
#8 January 25, 2012 at 8:16 am
Multitude commented:

Just on one side of our farm are a set of signs: “Warning. Buried Pipeline”

Does Barry not know that there already are millions of miles of pipeline all over the United States? Even in Western Nebraska, where Barry seems to think he’s keeping the aquifer safe from ever being threatened by a pipeline.

Someone needs to call him on the green angle – there’s no way its about that.
#9 January 25, 2012 at 8:18 am
Blackbird commented:

Hey Obama,

WE CAN’T WAIT!
#10 January 25, 2012 at 8:18 am
listingstarboard commented:

Obama wants to make Warren Buffet even richer!
#11 January 25, 2012 at 8:28 am
Opus#6@AmericanPerspective commented:

The only thing wrong with this project, in Obama’s mind, is it reduces our payments to middle east muslims who hate our way of life.
#12 January 25, 2012 at 8:44 am
Jeremiah Lloyd commented:

Whatever the reps do, don’t pass the pipeline. Use the issue in the election against Malibu.
#13 January 25, 2012 at 8:55 am
Dunce commented:

Pipelines are one way streets, but rail cars must go both ways, and no they can’t ship refined products back the Dakotas because there is a refinery in N.dak. besides there is only about 2 million people in total of both states. They do not need 830,000 barrels of petroleum products a day so most of the trains will be going back empty.
#14 January 25, 2012 at 9:43 am
Greg commented:

Found the Shakedown……………The supplemental draft of the environmental impact study for the keystone pipeline is a very long document about 1/3 which is on the topic of environmental justice. It goes into detail trying to capture the population by race by county over the entire 1300 miles for 4 miles on either side of the pipeline. Page 3-154 identifies property loss of values due to potential pipeline spills.

You can bet that the negotiation taking place is to identify an environmental justice slush fund to be administered by by a WON WTF specified company, not unlike with the 20 billion BP slush fund. The delay is caused by the desire to continue the concept of reparations.

Follow the big money
#15 January 25, 2012 at 10:42 am
RAW commented:

Finn: My thoughts exactly, except that there are MILLIONS of miles of pipeline in the US. It is the safest and most energy efficient method to transport a liquid or gas. Does the natural gas and water in your house come by truck?
#17 January 25, 2012 at 11:43 am
jd commented:

how dare you force the president of the united states to allow job creation, cheaper oil, and a political slam dunk.
#18 January 25, 2012 at 12:05 pm
FurryGuy commented:

Of course this corrupt administration is blaming the GOP for forcing them make a decision they would have preferred to not make. Barry had to piss on one part of his base (unions) to appease another part (environmentalists).
#20 January 25, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Stuart commented:

If I have any misgivings about the Keystone Pipeline it is this: Why do we need a pipeline to ship crude oil all the way down to Texas. I know, thats where the refineries are. Isn’t more reasonable to construct refineries in North Dakota, Alberta, and Saskatchewan and ship finished product into centrally located distribution centers like Omaha? Seemingly it would require a much shorter and cheeper route. Of course Obama would be against any new refineries, but sooner or later Obama will go and reality will reassert itself. If anyone has any insight about this point I would appreciate your comments.
#21 January 25, 2012 at 2:02 pm
SpideyTerry commented:

So, Obama’s plan is to remind voters that the GOP supported a popular initiative that would’ve created jobs, which he ultimately killed? What an idiot.
#22 January 25, 2012 at 2:05 pm
squeaky commented:

and that deal obama was crowing about with brazil did a nose dive with china getting the jump – [COMMENTARY | President Barack Obama has suffered the second embarrassment over oil imports within the space of a week. Brazil, whose offshore deposits of oil were sought by the Obama administration, has signed contracts with China for the product.] thank God for that there green energy thing [cough guffa] or i’d think we’d be in for a whole lot of hurt when we’re locked out. and what about that loan obama made to brazil and are they taking their moves from the solyndra model?
http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-stiffs-obama-oil-deal-exposing-presidents-incompetence-181200200.html
#24 January 25, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Glenmore commented:

That environmentalists are the key opponents is pathetic – it shows they are ignorant ‘useful idiots’ for some other cause. The new pipeline would be environmentally cleaner than 1) continuing to overload the old pipelines, 2) transporting the oil on trains or trucks, 3) transporting through other pipelines (existing and new) across much less benign topography to the west coast and shipping out, and 4) having the oil end up being used in China, with essentially no environmental regulations, rather than the US.
Oh, and the reason to pipe oil to the refineries rather than build refineries in the Dakotas – you’d need to build a whole new network of pipelines to distribute the refined products to the markets, and such pipelines already exist from the Gulf Coast (not to mention you’d wastefully idle Gulf Coast refinery capacity while employing new Dakota capacity.)