Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after President Obama denied the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline:
“President Obama shares House Democrats’ commitment to responsibly increasing domestic production and reducing oil imports. Moving toward that goal, just last year, U.S. oil production reached its highest level in nearly a decade and imports hit their lowest level in more than 15 years.
“House Republicans unnecessarily imposed an arbitrary and unworkable deadline on the Keystone application process last December as part of the legislation to extend the payroll tax cut for the middle class. Despite clear warnings that forcing a premature decision would risk the project, Republicans insisted on a decision before reviews could be completed.
“Now, we must work together to achieve real energy independence – investing in renewables and reducing our dependence on foreign oil, while creating jobs, strengthening our economy, and enhancing our national security.”
