Rep. Kelly Condemns President Obama’s Veto of Bipartisan Bill to Build Keystone Pipeline

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s veto of S. 1, bipartisan legislation to approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

“By vetoing the massively popular and bipartisan legislation to build the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama has severely embarrassed himself and his administration. He has deliberately turned his back on the will of the American people and the creation of 42,000 American jobs for the sake of pleasing a small, fringe minority. This is the very opposite of statesmanship.

“With today’s action, the president has made it painfully clear that, despite his rhetoric, he is simply not interested in doing what’s best for our country. He had an opportunity to prove his commitment to cooperation and deliver a great bipartisan victory for the entire nation, and he chose to reject it. His selfish preference to instead pander to the extreme left will surely stain his legacy.

“Today it is sadly clearer than ever that while America’s new Congress is here to serve America’s most urgent priorities, President Obama is not. The Keystone XL remains a commonsense plan that will make our economy stronger, and the fight to make it a reality will go on.”

NOTE: On January 31, 2014, the U.S. State Department issued its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the permit application of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project, confirming the project is safe and will have limited environmental impacts.

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