Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the ‘single greatest shovel-ready project in America,’ the Keystone XL Pipeline:

“Today, the President welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the White House, and it’s my hope that the Prime Minister convinces President Obama to reverse his recent decision to delay the Keystone XL Pipeline.

“The President has said repeatedly that jobs are his top priority, says he wakes up every morning thinking about how he can create jobs. Yet here’s the single greatest shovel-ready project in America, ready to go, and for some reason he’s suddenly not interested.

“Well I’ve got a question: How is it that when it comes to taxpayer-subsidized jobs that may or may not materialize the President tells us we can’t wait, but when it comes to private-sector jobs that are ready to go immediately he’s in no rush?

“It doesn’t make any sense — particularly when you look at some of the President’s past statements.

“Here are just a couple:

“President Obama said earlier this year, ‘For those -- just to give background to folks, there are these tar sands in Canada that can produce oil.  There is talk about building a pipeline into the United States to import that oil. … I will make this general point, which is that, first of all, importing oil from countries that are stable and friendly is a good thing.’

“The President also said earlier this year, ‘…we’re still going to have to import some oil. … And when it comes to the oil we import from other nations, obviously we’ve got to look at neighbors like Canada and Mexico that are stable and steady and reliable sources.’

“So the President has said he favors importing our oil from allies and neighbors. Here’s a project that would enable us to do a lot more of it — and create thousands of jobs in the process. What’s the problem?

“Last Friday, Americans woke to the news that for the 34th month in a row, the unemployment rate in this country has stood above eight percent — a period of joblessness not seen since the Great Depression. The least they can expect from Washington is that it won’t stand in the way of people who want to hire.

“Yet that’s exactly what they’re getting from this president when it comes to this pipeline. 

“This project has been under review for three years — including two exhaustive environmental evaluations.

“By all accounts the State Department was ready to give it the green light by the end of this year, this month.

“But then presidential politics got in the way. The President started getting heat from the environmental activists he’s counting on to stuff envelopes next year, so he put off a decision until after the election. If this episode tells us anything, it’s that the President is clearly more concerned about getting himself reelected next year than getting somebody in Nebraska or Kansas or South Dakota or Missouri a job today.

“He’s so determined to keep his liberal base happy he’s even willing to go against the labor unions.

“Let’s just look at what the labor unions are saying about this project.

“Well the teamsters put it this way: ‘The Keystone Pipeline project will offer working men and women a real chance to earn a good wage and support their families in this difficult economic climate,’ said… James P. Hoffa. ‘Our country was built by the hard-working men and women of the middle class - when they prosper so does America. Investment projects like Keystone Pipeline will go a long way toward helping our country down the road to economic recovery.’

“The AFL-CIO: ‘For America's skilled craft construction professionals, any discussion of the Keystone XL project begins and ends with one word: JOBS… Throughout America's Heartland, the Keystone Pipeline represents the prospect for 20,000 immediate jobs, and as many as 500,000 indirect jobs via a strong economic multiplier effect… without one single dollar of government assistance.’

“The Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: ‘At a time when jobs are the top global priority, the Keystone project will put thousands back to work and have ripple benefits throughout the North American economy. Our members look forward to being part of this historic project and pledge to deliver the highest quality work to make it a success.’

“Laborers’ International Union of North America has this to say: ‘…not just a pipeline, but is a lifeline for thousands of desperate working men and women.’

“So what do we have here?  We have a privately-funded project that labor leaders are saying their members want up and running.

“But the President says this one can wait.

“Despite what he’s said about importing oil from allies, despite what the labor unions say — the President wants to delay these jobs until after the election.

“And it’s not just the unions and the Republicans who are asking for this project to move forward. Let’s look at what some Democrats in Congress have said about it. I’ll just read a few excerpts.

• “America truly cannot afford to say ‘no’ to this privately funded, $20 billion, jobs-creating infrastructure project, which would bolster our economic, energy and national security. To that end, we respectfully urge you to ensure that the Presidential Permit is issued for Keystone XL.”
• “…Mr. President, America needs the Keystone XL Pipeline. It is in our national interest to have a Presidential Permit issued for Keystone XL as soon as possible.”
• “The Department of State's Final Environmental Impact Statement reaffirmed the findings of the two previous environmental impact statements, namely, that the Keystone XL Pipeline will have no significant impact on the environment.’
• “With job growth an ongoing struggle for our country, the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline represents a true shovel-ready project that would directly create 20,000 high quality domestic manufacturing and construction jobs for Americans who are desperately seeking employment. The project would also create an additional 118,000 spin-off jobs.”

“Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT): ‘We need to put Montanans back to work and cannot afford further delays to the Keystone XL pipeline…’

“Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT): ‘The Keystone pipeline will create Montana jobs and it should not have to wait 14 months for an up-or-down decision…’

“Americans can’t wait for the next election. They want jobs now.

“So it’s my hope that Prime Minister Harper is able to convince the President to change his mind.

“Congressional Republicans and Democrats stand ready to move forward on this project.

“We are prepared to do all within our means to get the Keystone XL pipeline approved.

“There is no time for delay.”