WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) announced today that Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs, will testify at next week’s subcommittee hearing to explain why the Department recommended the president reject the permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline. Jones was the primary point person in charge of the pipeline’s permit process at State.
The committee yesterday extended an invitation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify on the agency’s more than three-year review process in response to the news that the Obama administration was rejecting this privately funded, shovel-ready construction project to create tens of thousands of jobs and carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil to U.S. refineries each day.
“We want to know why this project was derailed at the 11th hour after an extensive review process and with time to spare before the president’s deadline. Instead of taking the additional 60 days we gave him to gather the information needed to say yes, it looks like the last few weeks have been spent looking for a way to say no. This review has been under way for more than three years, which is more than enough time to determine that the creation of thousands of American jobs and access to a secure energy source clearly serves the national interest. With President Obama unable to say yes, Congress is not taking any options off the table as we look at steps we can take to make sure this pipeline gets built and these jobs are created," said Upton.
