President Obama Denies Keystone XL Pipeline

Taking a stand on what has emerged as one of the hottest political issues in the United States, President Obama has announced his administration will not approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would transport oil from Alberta's tar sands to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.

In an official statement, the President said there has not been enough time to evaluate the myriad of factors involved in this massive infrastructure proposal.

Earlier today, I received the Secretary of State's recommendation on the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipelines impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment. As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be denied. And after reviewing the State Departments report, I agree.

The President made it clear that today's decision was largely the result of partisan politics.  In December, Republicans placed increased pressure on the administration by imposing a 60-day deadline on the Keystone decision-making process as part of a congressional bill to extend a payroll tax-break and unemployment benefits.

This "arbitrary" deadline, as President Obama called it, forced him to deny the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal.  Leaving room for the pipeline proposal to be broached again, the President explained his decision does not reflect the merits of Keystone XL, and that his administration is committed to working with the oil and gas industry to build energy security.

An extremely polarizing issue, the Keystone XL project has created fervent voices on both sides of the debate.  Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) was incensed by the decision, stating, "President Obama is about to destroy tens of thousands of American jobs and sell American energy security to the Chinese.  The president won't stand up to his political base even to create American jobs. This is not the end of the fight."

Video: Rep. Addresses the Keystone XL Decision

With the nation's economy in such peril, the pipeline has been framed by the oil industry and the Republican party as a major job-creation project -- one that the pipeline's developer, TransCanada, says could potentially develop 20,000 jobs. 

Like the majority of variables in this debate, however, there is much more to the "jobs" story.  The most striking counter to this claim comes through the results of an independent study conducted by Cornell University that concludes only 50 permanent jobs would be created as a result of developing this major pipeline.  Cornell's research estimates that between 2,500 and 4,650 temporary jobs will be created as part of the construction process.

Representing thousands of workers, several unions, such as the Transport Workers Union, United Auto Workers, and United Steel Workers applauded the President's decision to deny the proposal.  In addition to supporting the decision, the unions claim Republican rhetoric around job creation is extremely shallow.  They state the GOP has rejected numerous opportunities to support programs which would create employment for Americans. 

These opportunities include blocking the Restore the American Dream Act, which would create and save 2.3 million jobs in 2012, and opposing the extension of the Highway Trust Fund which would not only create 100,000 jobs but also allow for critical infrastructure repair.

The Keystone XL story is far from over, and it will certainly play a large roll in the upcoming election season as it is attached to two of the most important voter issues -- the economy and security.

Image credit:  Copyright © TransCanada Corporation.  All rights reserved.