Vitter: Authorizing Keystone Should Be a No-Brainer

Press Release

U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, made the following statement regarding today's vote in the U.S. Senate to authorize building the Keystone XL pipeline. S. 2280 failed to reach 60 votes in the Senate and was therefore not agreed to.

"We have been working to pass the Keystone XL pipeline for four years now, and it looks like Senate Democrats are not interested in creating good-paying jobs and increasing our energy independence," said Vitter. "Passing Keystone XL should be a no-brainer, yet President Obama and Democrats in Congress keep kicking the can down the road. After all the talk from Sen. Landrieu who claimed they had enough Democrat votes, this must be a let-down for her."

The House of Representatives passed the companion legislation H.R. 5682, introduced by Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) last week.

Last week, Vitter, along with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), wrote to President Obama requesting his opinion on legislation that would authorize and build the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Vitter was the first member of the Senate to introduce legislation to expedite the Keystone pipeline. The Keystone XL pipeline will carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day to U.S. refineries. According to the U.S. State Department, its construction will create 42,000 jobs.

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