Sen. Cruz: Approving Keystone Would Have Been a Step in the Right Direction

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement after the Obama Administration rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline:

“Today, President Obama once again confirmed what most of us already knew: he does not care about American jobs or the American economy. He remains controlled by a radical environmentalist agenda, which seeks the elimination of whole segments of our economy.

“It’s also notable that President Obama’s decision today is in direct contravention to the wishes of Congress, not to mention the recommendation of his own State Department. The State Department’s internal review found that the KXL Pipeline would not impact global emissions in a significant way.  

“To think that Canadians are going to leave the tar sands undeveloped is downright naïve. Now because of the President’s decision, Canadians will have no choice but to send it to China, which will refine the oil in a much, much dirtier way. As I’ve said before, there is only one thing that will stop us from embracing our nation’s full potential: the federal government. And today the President did exactly that. 

“Approving Keystone would have been a step in the right direction. America needs a strong pro-jobs energy agenda that will free us from the Obama economy’s persistent stagnation and spur economic growth. This is why I introduced the American Energy Renaissance. We must empower the private sector to create good-paying jobs by harnessing our nation’s energy resources and removing federal impediments to energy exploration, development and trade. Unleashing our energy renaissance will create a stronger economy, a stronger America, and free America and its allies from dependence upon petro-tyrants such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin.”

Earlier this year, Sen. Cruz introduced three pro-growth, pro-jobs amendments to the Keystone Pipeline XL Act.

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