Senate Should Reverse Obama’s Job-Killing Keystone Pipeline Decision

By Ted Cruz

A group of Senators moved this week to reverse President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone Pipeline, which would potentially generate billions in revenue for Texas and create tens of thousands of jobs. This is yet another example of the Obama Administration catering to radical special interests set on overregulation, rather than getting government out of the way. The Senate should quickly pass this legislation.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, would bypass President Obama’s decision and approve the pipeline directly.  If it is not reversed, President Obama’s decision will cause Texas to lose some $2 billion in economic output and $41 million in construction tax revenue, according to figures from Sen. Cornyn’s office.

President Obama’s decision killed tens of thousands of jobs with the stroke of a pen.  And, it hurt the environment, by ensuring that we will continue to import more and more of our oil from overseas on tankers that inevitably suffer the risk of spills.  Even more importantly, it hurts our national security, keeping us dependent on Midlle East oil, enriching nations whose interests are very different from our own.

This is a terrific opportunity for the Senate to stand up for jobs and reject special interests. President Obama may veto the bill, causing him to side against American jobs once again.

Or, the President could do the right thing and let construction of the pipeline proceed, which would transport hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from Canada to U.S. refineries. But unfortunately, we’ve seen this before: The President has engaged in a three year war on jobs.  And the American people have paid the price.  With this bill, the Senate can take an important step toward unleashing the private sector (as explained in my 12-point jobs and growth plan) and stopping President Obama’s unrelenting war on jobs.

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