(Above: Sen. Jeff Sessions speaks on the Senate floor in favor of the Keystone XL Pipeline)
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., harshly criticized President Obama on Tuesday for indefinitely delaying a decision to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, a proposed addition to an international (Canada and The U.S.) oil pipeline system that environmental groups have made their top target over the last several years.
“In my time here in the Senate, this is one of the most inexplicable actions by a president I’ve ever seen,” Sessions declared on the Senate floor. “The facts continue to come forward to justify this pipeline for jobs in America, for lower cost energy in America, for importing oil from our ally Canada, where the people buy a great deal from us… Does Venezuela buy a lot from us? Or Saudi Arabia, or other places that we buy oil from? No… I’m just astounded that it has not been approved today.”
The Keystone XL extension was proposed in 2008. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission granted a permit for the project in Feb. of 2010, and about a month later The Canadian National Energy Board approved the project. But since them, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmental groups around the country have successfully worked to block federal approval of the pipeline.
The Obama Administration announced an indefinite delay on approval last month, leading a bi-partisan group of Senators to introduce a bill to bypass the President and approve construction through legislation.
The bill, introduced by Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu and North Dakota Republican John Hoeven, would authorize immediate construction of the 1,660-mile pipeline. The senators claim to have 45 Republicans and 11 Democrats supporting the bill, but they could struggle to gather the 67 votes needed to override a likely veto by the President.
“It’s just a positive thing for America, it just is,” Sen. Sessions said of the pipeline. “I strongly believe that with the failed leadership of President Obama on this issue, we’re going to have to pass legislation. It’s just that critical.”
Sen. Hoeven laid out the current situation during an exchange with Sen. Sessions on the Senate floor.
“It’s an opportunity for us to get our energy from… energy that we’re producing and from Canada, rather than the Middle East,” Hoeven told Sessions. “If we don’t approve it… They’ll still produce the oil, but they’ll be forced to send it to China. So we’ll import oil from the Middle East, and force our closest friend and ally to export their oil to China… That’s what happens if we don’t approve the project. If the President refuses to do it, then we have the responsibility to do it.”
North Dakota’s unemployment rate currently sits 2.6 percent, due in large part to the energy boom the state is experiencing. Sen. Hoeven and other advocates of the pipeline believe it could help the United States experience that kind of economic growth and unemployment drop nationwide.
Environmental efforts against the pipeline are being led by liberal billionaire Tom Steyer, who has committed to spending over $100 million in support of the U.S. environmental movement.
“He asked for some things from this president if he’s going to put up $100 million,” Sessions said of Steyer. “So I’m not happy about it. I believe the public interest, the people’s interest of this country is being subordinated to either an extreme environmentalist agenda, or plain money. There’s no other rational basis for the position we find ourselves in. It’s really tragic. We need jobs in this country… I feel real strongly that we should move forward with this. It’s the right thing to do. It’s not politics. It’s the right thing. A lot of Democratic members favor this pipeline. Union groups favor this pipeline… It’s not a Republican-Democratic issue. It’s an extremism issue against common sense issue.”
Sessions concluded by pointing to his home state of Alabama, which has been working to expand its energy production in recent years.
“In my state of Alabama, pipelines crisscross the state,” he said. “We don’t have any problems with that. The idea that we can’t build another pipeline in this country is about as ludicrous as you can imagine.”
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.