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Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), who authored legislation directing the State Department to permit the Keystone XL pipeline, today decried President Barack Obama’s decision to officially oppose the Keystone XL pipeline project.  Congressman Bishop and Senator David Vitter (R-LA) sponsoredthe Domestic Jobs, Domestic Energy, and Deficit Reduction Act of 2011 (3-D Act), which, among other things, directed the State Department to issue all permits necessary to move forward with the Keystone XL Pipeline Project.

“As far as I can tell, the President’s energy agenda is simply to make it harder and more expensive for the American people to get by.  Whether he likes it or not, the U.S. needs oil and since he won’t allow the U.S. to produce moredomestically, we are forced to import it from other countries.  Canadian crude oil refined by the U.S. is one of the safest and most affordable alternatives we have to meet our domestic oil demands, which currently outpace supply,” said Congressman Bishop.  “It is my hope that the President will heed the advice of his own Jobs Council, which included in their year-end report a recommendation for increased access to energy resources on public lands.”

On Tuesday, January 17, 2012, the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness issued its year-end report, which called for improved access to our nation’s abundant domestic energy resources.  Specifically, the report stated that, “As a nation, we need to take advantage of all our natural resources to spur economic growth, create jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil. First, we should allow more access to oil, natural gas and coal opportunities on federal lands.”

“The President’s decision to oppose the shovel-ready Keystone XL pipeline is irresponsible and illustrates that the President is more concerned about getting re-elected than doing what’s best for the American people,”Bishop added. 

The United States’ daily oil consumption far outpaces domestic production.  Therefore, the U.S. must import oil to compensate for the disparity between supply and demand.  Presently the U.S. imports approximately 10 million barrels a day while consumption averages around 15 million.Click here for more information on U.S. oil importation from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“For nearly three years, hard-working Americans have suffered from the President’s anti-energy policies, enduring astronomical prices at the pump and unaffordable home energy costs.  We need to look no further for an example of this than the cancellation of 77 oil and gas leases in my home state of Utah—one of the Administration’s earliest actions taken against the oil and gas industry.  This not only dealt a devastating blow to our nation’s efforts to become more energy independent but it also prevented thousands of new high-paying long-term jobs from being created,”Bishop concluded. 

Experts forecast that U.S. consumption of oil will continue at current levels for the next two to three decades.  In addition to helping the U.S. meet its oil demands, it is projected that the Keystone XL pipeline would have employed 13,000 Americans to construct the pipeline as well as an additional 7,000 manufacturing jobs.