U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today issued the following statement after President Obama rejected the cross-border permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project after a more than 2,600-day delay:
“After more than seven years of deliberate delay, President Obama today rejected a strongly-supported project that would create thousands of high-paying jobs, ensure a secure long-term source of energy from one of our closest allies, and serve as the cleanest and safest way to bring this energy into our country - according to analysis from his own State Department," Murkowski said. “A decision this poorly made is not symbolic, but deeply cynical. It does not rest on the facts - it continues to distort them. It is a triumph of fringe politics over sound policy. And it sends a deeply negative signal to all who want to invest in America - because this Administration has yet again shown it is willing to stand in the way of robust growth and a secure future."
Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has long supported construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. In one of her first actions as chairman , Murkowski led Senate approval of S. 1, legislation to approve the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL project, through a bipartisan vote of 62-36. President Obama later vetoed the legislation.
