According to Reuters, the pressure is on President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that will tie Canada oil sands to Texas refineries. But Republican lawmakers are vowing they will not give up on the issue even if Obama says no.
A Contingency Plan
Due to language written into December's payroll tax cut extension, which was signed by Obama, the president has until Feb. 21 to approve the pipeline or publicly explain why the project is not in the nation's best interest. This requirement came as blowback for the Obama administration's November announcement that it would not make a decision on the pipeline until after this year's presidential election.
Even as congressional Republicans hope for approval of the pipeline by the deadline, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven is working on new legislation in the event that Obama doesn't grant a permit for the project, Reuters reported. The payroll tax cut extension is set to expire in late February, and a new deadline to approve the project could be imposed on the president.
States Also Applying Pressure
On Tuesday, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin sent a letter to Obama, asking him to immediately approve the pipeline. In an accompanying news release, Fallin and Robert Jones, vice president for TransCanada's Keystone Pipelines, outlined the potential benefits that Oklahoma stands to gain with the construction of the pipeline, including a $1.2 billion economic investment in Oklahoma, $874 million in increased personal income and $667 million in property taxes to county and local governments. Those property taxes could be used to build new roads, schools and hospitals, Jones said, and Fallin agreed, stating, "If the president is serious about job creation and economic stimulus, then he needs to get serious about the Keystone XL pipeline."
According to the Helena Independent Record, Democratic senator Larry Jent -- a candidate for the Montana governor's seat -- wrote a letter to Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urging approval of the project by the deadline. Jent also asked his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Steve Bullock, to join him in calling for presidential approval of the pipeline. The pipeline would not only create jobs but would also provide transportation for Montana's Bakken formation oil, Jent said.
Voter and Union Support
According to a Rasmussen poll in late December, 53 percent of likely U.S. voters favor building the Keystone Pipeline. The project has also divided two key groups Obama is looking to in his campaign for re-election: the environmentalists and the unions. On Dec. 1, the Laborers' International Union of North America blasted the Obama administration and environmentalists for the delay in approval. "To wait even one day longer than necessary is a slap in the face to hardworking people struggling to provide for their families during the continuing economic crises," read the union press release on the matter. "For them, this pipeline is a lifeline -- and they cannot wait much longer."
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