Obama Blames GOP Deadline for Keystone Rejection

http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/01/18/obama_to_reject_keystone_pipeline.html

President Obama on Wednesday formally rejected a permit application for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, saying that a Republican-mandated deadline to take action on the proposal left his administration with no other choice but to block the $7 billion project that would pump crude oil from the Alberta tar sands all the way to the Gulf Coast.

"This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people," Obama said in a statement. "I'm disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration's commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil."

Republicans, both in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail, wasted little time seizing on the decision to renew their criticism of an administration they say is siding with environmentalists to the detriment of the U.S. economy.

"President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese," House Speaker John Boehner said. "The president is selling out American jobs for politics."

The White House, however, is leaving the door open for TransCanada Corp. to reroute its proposed 1,700-mile pipeline and then reapply for the necessary federal approval at a later day, the Washington Post reports.