Rep. Kelly Calls on President Obama to Support the Keystone XL Pipeline
Bipartisan bill passed by House & Senate to construct pipeline
goes to White House for approval
Rep. Kelly: “Say ‘Yes’ to the Keystone pipeline!”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) – a member of the House Ways and Means Committee – delivered remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives today in support of S. 1, legislation approving the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The bill was passed by the House this evening by a bipartisan vote of 270-152.
Highlights from Rep. Kelly’s floor speech:
“I rise in strong support of the Keystone XL pipeline. It’s going to create 42,000 jobs. … This is the most federally reviewed pipeline in U.S. history. … And the thing about this that is most impressive is it doesn’t cost the American taxpayer one single penny—it’s privately funded. And I would guarantee you, along that pipeline, as it’s constructed, all those communities are going to benefit from the fact that they have people working there, staying in their hotels, buying their food, and enhancing their local economy. How many more times do we have to talk about this?”
“This isn’t a Republican issue, by the way. This is an American issue. The majority of the American people support this. Democrats and Republicans in both the House and the Senate [support the pipeline]. It is bipartisan and bicameral—my goodness, how rare is that? Business groups and labor unions, and even President Bill Clinton and President Bush agree this is something that needs to be done. News outlets from Bloomberg to The Washington Post to USA Today—they all say, ‘Build it.’”
“USA Today gets it right. They say: 'On the merits, the Obama administration should long ago have said yes. … But the White House seems to have been paralyzed by its fear of angering ally Canada if it says no or infuriating Democratic environmentalists if it says yes.”
“It’s way past time to say yes. President Obama must say yes to new jobs, he must say yes to bipartisanship, he must say yes to good government, he must say yes to America, and he must say yes to the Keystone pipeline. It’s long past due, my friends. Let’s move America forward, let’s become energy self-sustaining, and let’s be the leader in the world when it comes to energy.”
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