◼ Just weeks after nixing TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL Pipeline from the Canadian border to Texas over environmental concerns, President Obama came to the heart of Oklahoma oil country on Thursday to insist he's a fan of the industry and give his approval to the southern leg of the project. - FOX
"Today, I am directing my administration to cut through red tape, break through bureaucratic hurdles and make this project a priority," Obama said amid applause.
Republicans fired back the president is hyping his role in relieving the bottlenecked supply because construction on this portion of the pipeline is expected to start in June -- with or without him.
"After more than three years of environmental study by various agencies, the president in January denied ... a permit for the entire project, stranding more than 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada, North Dakota and other upper Great Plains states," said a group of GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill. "Today, however, he took credit for a section of the pipeline that required no presidential approval. The fact is, the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline doesn’t require presidential consent because it doesn’t cross an international border."
...Republicans counter the president's two-day energy tour is a sign he's on defense over soaring gasoline prices.
"Why is the president holding it up, then trying to take credit for it?," asked Sen. John Hoeven, R-S.D. "This is bizarre. The president's denial of the full Keystone XL pipeline project is causing real hardship for real people in my home state of North Dakota, where we’re still moving product by truck and rail rather than by pipeline, which is safer and more efficient."
