RightChange: Obama Promotes American-Made Energy While Continuing to Block the Keystone XL Pipeline

President Obama spent a good amount of time last week traveling the country and talking about American-made energy. He talked about the need to decrease our reliance on foreign oil, our limited supply here at home, and the economic benefits that come from energy independence. At an event in Nevada, he said:

“That’s the economy we want, an economy built on American manufacturing with more good jobs and more products made here in the United States of America.  An economy built on American energy, fueled by homegrown and alternative sources that make us more secure and less dependent on foreign oil.  An economy built on the skills of American workers, getting people the education and the training they need to prepare for the jobs of today, but also to compete for the jobs of tomorrow.”

And in a very similar speech he gave in Colorado, he said:

“But we’ve got to do more, because even if we tapped every drop of domestic oil, we’ve only got 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves.  We’ve got to have an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy, develop every available source of America energy, and it’s got to be a strategy that is cleaner and cheaper and will create all kinds of new jobs.”

It’s clear that energy is a priority for Mr. Obama, and it definitely should be. Our supplies at home are dwindling, and Americans are constantly held hostage by the price of foreign oil. American-made energy represents a great opportunity to create thousands of jobs and get our economy moving again. However, even though he talks about the endless benefits, he offers no concrete plan to accomplish these goals and he still remains steadfastly committed to blocking the creation of the Keystone pipeline.

Not to worry. Where Obama won’t act, Congress will. Since returning from recess, both the House and the Senate have been working hard to craft legislation that would allow for the creation of the pipeline and the countless benefits that come with it.

In the House, Rep. Lee Terry and Rep. Ted Poe have both introduced legislation that facilitates the creation of the pipeline. Terry’s bill, the “North American Energy Access Act” seeks to “facilitate United States access to North American oil reserves” by giving control of the project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and tying it to the yearlong payroll tax extension. However, under Terry’s bill, Obama would still have the final say, as it requires the president to sign the permit. And if the last debate on the pipeline provides any insight, we know that’s not going to happen.

Poe’s bill, the “Keystone For a Secure Tomorrow Act,” is different. It seeks to allow for the creation of the pipeline without requiring Obama’s signature. Along with that, 43 Senate Republicans and one Senate Democrat (Sen. Joe Manchin) have introduced a similar bill that would approve the pipeline without having to wait for presidential approval.

The Keystone pipeline does everything Mr. Obama spoke about in Colorado and Nevada, plus it even has some support from our so-called “do-nothing” Congress. He’s got a great opportunity to put his words into action and finally bring us the jobs and the energy independence that we so desperately need. But don’t get your hopes up. Action has never been Mr. Obama’s strong suit and he’s never really known or cared about what we need.

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