The Hill News

Americans need jobs. In his rejection of the Keystone Pipeline permit, the president killed approximately 100,000 jobs, and he killed the jobs of the steel workers who would build the 1,700 miles of pipeline in Arkansas. His actions show that he also intends to kill the oil industry.

The Keystone XL pipeline is a 1700-mile, $7 billion non tax-payer funded pipeline which would deliver an additional 700,000 barrels of oil from Canada to refineries in the United States each day. The project would create an immediate 20,000 construction jobs and at least another 130,000 long-term jobs by conservative estimates. The pipeline would also mean less dependence on Hugo Chavez's Venezuelan oil.

With 8.5 percent national unemployment, it is unfathomable that anyone would turn away 130,000 jobs and continue to increase reliance on the resources of foreign nations, but this is exactly what the president is doing. Worse yet, he is doing so to appease special inter! ests. President Obama chose to disregard common-sense recommendations from a panel he appointed and caved to the pressure of environmental groups. It is time the president worried about jobs on Main Street instead of his job at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The president has blatantly shown his disregard for the well-being of the American people. 

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