Thune Statement on Obama Administration’s Rejection of Keystone XL Pipeline

Thune Statement on Obama Administration’s Rejection of Keystone XL Pipeline
“I would say that I’m surprised, but with President Obama’s commitment to appeasing the far-left environmental wing of his political base, today’s decision is par for the course.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement after the Obama administration announced it has denied TransCanada’s permit application to build the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline:

“I would say that I’m surprised, but with President Obama’s commitment to appeasing the far-left environmental wing of his political base, today’s decision is par for the course,” said Thune. “The Obama administration has spent seven years delaying this common-sense project. It has reviewed thousands of public comments and completed five environmental impact statements – all of which found the pipeline would have no significant impact on the environment. The pipeline would immediately support thousands of shovel-ready jobs during construction, including 3,000-4,000 in South Dakota alone. The only explanation for today’s decision is that the administration has squeezed from this project’s unnecessary delay every last bit of political expediency that remained.”

Approving the Keystone XL pipeline was a priority for the Republican-led Senate. In January, more than 60 senators supported a bill that would have approved this project. After the bipartisan legislation cleared the House of Representatives, President Obama vetoed the bill.

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