The Hill News

The same House Republicans who drove the country to the brink of default last summer now want to hold American families hostage to the profits of Big Oil. President Obama is right to stand up to this special-interest pleading and insist on putting our families first.

Time is running out on payroll tax credits and unemployment benefit extensions set to expire at the end of the month. With unemployment at 8.6 percent, Congress must decide whether to do away with benefits that can help families stay afloat while giving our struggling economy a boost.

And yet, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says the only way he and his fellow House Republicans will extend these credits and benefits is if Obama agrees to fast-track a decision on the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Obama said Wednesday he won't accede to that legislative blackmail, because a rush to judgment on the tar sands pipeline could put the health and prosperity of Americans at risk whi! le needlessly endangering our environment. The president has got it right.

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