Vitter to Obama: Prove You’re Serious and Approve Keystone XL
A key congressional challenger to the White House’s course on energy policy is skeptical of the administration’s seemingly warmer response to construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Or, at least, a warmer response to part of the original Keystone XL project.
Claiming as they have since last month that Republicans demanding a quick permitting decision were really the ones who killed Keystone XL, the White House today said it “welcomes” news that TransCanada plans to move forward on the southern leg of the pipeline from Cushing, Okla., to the Gulf and promised to “take every step possible” to expedite the permit process.
“Actions speak louder than words, so those are very nice words if they mean it,” Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) told PJM after the announcement.
And if they mean it, he stressed, they’d let the rest of the pipeline — a project killed after three years of review because President Obama said the required environmental studies could not be completed by Congress’ deadline — be built all the way across the Canadian border, the segment that stalled in the State Department permit process.
The White House noted today that TransCanada expressed its intention to reapply for the cross-border segment permit.
“As we made clear, the President’s decision in January in no way prejudged future applications,” said the statement from the press secretary’s office. “We will ensure any project receives the important assessment it deserves, and will base a decision to provide a permit on the completion of that review.”
“If the administration really means it, they can move forward with this immediately,” Vitter said.
He accused the administration of “trying to have it both ways,” noting that the White House is “so beholden to their far-left environmental base” that it has ignored public sentiment on pipeline approval and blocked the project while now striking a warm tone toward development.
“At the end of the day I think the American people aren’t going to be fooled,” Vitter said.
His Senate colleagues echoed this sentiment. “The American people can’t afford the White House’s smoke and mirrors energy strategy,” Republican Policy Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement. “Until President Obama uses his authority to allow TransCanada to bring Canadian oil to the United States, his leadership will remain weak.”
Earlier this month, Vitter, along with Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), introduced the Strategic Petroleum Supplies Act, which bars the administration from tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until Keystone XL permitting is approved.
Vitter said he’s received no direct response from the White House on his bill. “I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from colleagues and constituents,” he added.
“It’s pretty clear Obama’s merely going to try to manipulate price” if he taps into the reserve, “even though there’s no strategic reason for a release, which is what the reserve was intended for,” Vitter said.
Skyrocketing gas prices heading into campaign season could spell trouble for the president if pain at the pump increases.
“I don’t have a crystal ball but certainly it’s normal for [gas prices] to go up and bump up in the summer,” Vitter said of the potential trajectory of prices in the coming months. “I certainly think the administration realizes that and is pretty scared of that as a political issue.”
The senator called a White House spokesman’s assertion Friday that the extension of the payroll tax cut put money back into Americans’ pockets to help cushion the blow from rising gas prices “silly.”
“Extending that current cut is not giving Americans any more than they have now in their pockets,” he said.
Vitter said America has suffered from bad energy policy for three years, with the pace of permitting since the 2010 BP oil spill down 30 to 40 percent and the outer continental shelf lease plan at half of the previous plan.
As the Gulf state most impacted by the spill, Vitter said his constituents want to get back to production.
“Obviously Louisiana was the most impacted by the environmental damage, so we don’t take that lightly,” he said. “People know we need to get back to a healthy level of energy production … it’s a big hit on our economy.”
The Keystone debacle, the senator said, is just another misstep by this administration that has made energy policy and America’s energy security worse.
“They could be expanding domestic production,” Vitter noted. “We’re the only country in world that takes 95 percent of our energy resources and puts them off limits.”
Also influenced by the environmental lobby, he said, the Obama administration is trying to put the brakes on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract oil and natural gas. “The EPA is threatening to shut that process down while there’s no scientific basis for it,” he said.
“Under their leadership, we’re moving in the wrong direction in terms of domestic energy production,” Vitter said.
Obama does not want to approve the pipeline because he knows it will work. He also knows that it will create a lot of new jobs, something he doesn’t want because he wants more and more people dependent on the government for aid. Heaven forbid that we should have more people standing on their own two feet with jobs provided by private industry. In a social-welfare kind of state, they could never allow something like that. Which is why this guy needs to be voted out of office this year.
Obama isn’t serious; he’s just trying to raise his poll numbers as the gas prices rise.
Warren Buffett is The Presidents mouth piece on taxes
The oil will have to be shipped by rail if pipeline isn’t allowed
Warren Buffett owns the largest fleet of trains in the midwest
So what is the realistic possibility of Oblama approving ? ZERO
He’s so transparent…
Take credit for Anything positive
Blame anything negatives on Republicans or Bush
Play the racecard anywhere he can to deflect critisism
Thank you! Finally someone has pointed that out. I wish some of the conservative pundits along with all of the GOP candidates would point that out as well.
There is a concerted effort by US and international “environmental” (i.e, bolshevik communist elitist pigs) to shut down the Canadian tar sands in Alberta. It is these groups to which Obama is beholden for they direct millions of dollars to his campaign, and frankly, upon his retirement, to his personal bank accounts. They are one and the same as the CPUSA, Socialist Workers Party, big unions,and other assorted hate-America first, communist / anarchist groups.
All this is of a piece with Obama’s Marxist Leninist ideology, and his communist upbringing and frankly, his deep hatred and contempt for everything American.
Look how Castro, Lenin, Kim Jong, Honnecker, Ortega, Stalin, Mao, Ceaucescu, etc., live/lived and the privileges they permitted themselves to have and how they PROHIBITED the common person from aspiring to these same privileges.
This is the communist way, the Obama way; simply a clone of the lives of mid-18th century European royalty; govt of the elite, by the elites and for the elites. And Obama certainly considers himself one of these elites.
Americans had better wake up to the deadly threat he represents to our constitutional republic.
JA by all means you need to check out this link.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/26/texas-hunting-ranchers-fight-for-right-to-save-african-antelope-species/3/#dsq-login-facebook
This report deals with Texas ranchers who have raised endangered African Species and conducted exotic hunts, thus preserving these species with no government control or help. The system is working but the animal rights crowd are not happy about it. According to a Ms Feral who makes some outlandish statements in the last page but reveals the spirit behind Obama and the energy foot dragging along with the Keystone Pipe Line. This spirit cannot be reasoned with.
“Meanwhile, Feral told “60 minutes” that she would rather see the animals extinct than hunted — at least in Texas.”
Senator David Vitter is well advised to keep their feet to the fire because it is neither environmental concerns nor any other legitimate reason that causes this malicious action. I hope many of you will check this link for it raises some very ugly questions about the motivation of these entities that push these issues. There is no law that says we should tolerate and abet their whims. Yet the often have the full backing of our government.
I see Obama dragging this out until after the election hoping to use it as a “See I do care” prop that will never get done if he gets reelected.
Two of his greatest supporters – Soros and Buffet – both benefit from no pipeline. Buffet owns a large part of BNSF railroad and would gain from a big contract to transport the oil to the Texas Gulf via rail which would raise the price by about $3 per barrel vs a pipeline according to some sources. Soros would benefit from the higher oil prices when he barges his oil in from Brazil to the Gulf refineries. That $3 per barrel would go directly to Buffet and Soros. Its a no-brainer for Zero. American taxpayers would be screwed for the $3 per barrel higher price in either case – we’ve already seen how much Obama cares about us in multiple instances. No reason for him to change things up now eh? He only needs us for votes – and can then be cast aside.
To author Bridget Johnson. You redeemed yourself very quickly today. This article was much better than your earlier waste of time regarding Laurence Kotlikoff, the nitwit professor at Boston University. This morning I hoped that you were going to develop better material in the future and you did. Thanks!
Algae. Srsly. The guy said Algae.
In domestic policy we need to
1 drill for oil and gas
2 focus upon science and engineering education
In foreign policy we need to reap the the rewards of KSAs contract to buy $60 Billion of American defense products–KSAs decision means a lot of jobs and wealth for American families.
1 get out of the ME ethnic/ religious entanglements
2 put fundamental American interests first in our all foreign policy decision–that means oil and jobs
3 end handouts to all foreign countries for the next 15 years.
I think Obama saw that episode of Saved By The Bell where there was an oil company that wanted to drill on the school property. It didn’t go well, they got oil on everything somehow. By the end of the episode everyone was covered in oil and weeping.
The only drilling that will work at this point is in Obama’s head.
Send him a bill with a stand alone Keystone measure and call his bluff already.
Imagine if it was Obama’s idea to have this pipeline built and he was travelling around holding press conferences to get support, republicans would come unglued…”we aint gonna let no foreign cumpney come in and take our land and poison our farm water”…Look at the iminent domain issues where people’s lands are being taken by that Canadian company, albeit indirectly through local and state governments. Where’s the tea party on that issue? Silent? This pipeline crosses the Ogallala Aquifer which supplies 1/4 of the water used for crops..you dont think conservative farmers care about that? Nooo…its only those dang ol’ pesky environmentalists. The jobs numbers are grossly inflated…research how those numbers were calculated. And who do you think will take the credit for creating those jobs? Turn off Fox news and CNN…take the time to do the research to find out who is getting paid and who doesnt have a voice in the matter, look for original sources and avoid biased political commentary. Then you will find the truth…which is much more complex and nuanced. The fact is the reps got a bit cocky and thought it would be a good idea to give the president an unrealistic deadline and then demand he approve it. They knew he couldnt…so now they use it to make him look bad and the rest of you brainless sheeple follow right along with them.
Except that all of the studies Obama wanted had already been completed (BY THE EPA) before the documents requiring his approval ever showed on his desk. You think those local farmers and such didn’t contact their state reps about this issue? Wonder why all of them voted FOR it then.
I guess if you had done your homework; you would have already come across at least one of the maps showing just how many thousands of miles of oil and gas pipelines already criscrossing the Ogallals Aquifer. Or that no land is taken away when a pipeline is BURIED. But since you seem so much more smarter than I, you must already know these things and just decided to ignore them.
The Keystone Pipeline people are going ahead and building the southern part of the pipeline since it doesn’t cross international boundries. Once we get rid of Obama, they can finish the northern part.
obama of the payama comentary page library of comunication, un medio de exprecion,escrito muy antiquisimo; pero reconocidos en todos los medios mundiales desde el principio del mundo era cris-tiana,era comun,ante-of,cristo,y despues de cris-to,es un formato de exprecion u desahogo es un foneto cimilir al telegrama,memorandum,note,copy,lineas,es mucha forma u manera de 4exprection en la gramaticas,lenguaajes escrito,rama of la lenguis espanola q estudia la lectra filosofias etc.