President Obama said the words we’ve been hoping for – he WILL veto the bill that approves the Keystone pipeline.
"If this bill passes this Congress the president won’t sign it," says Josh Earnest, White House press secretary.
Every time Obama has been asked about the pipeline recently he hasn’t had a single, positive thing to say about it. He consistently says it does nothing for the US – we don’t get the oil, we don’t get any money, we are just a route from Canada to Gulf refineries to the world export markets. He’s even noted the few jobs it would create.
Still, Earnest says Obama’s decision will be made after the review process is completed – currently held up by landowner lawsuits in Nebraska along the proposed route.
Although Obama is withholding "broader judgment on the project itself, you can note our skepticism about some of the claims made by the most enthusiastic advocates of the pipeline," Earnest told reporters at a press conference.
Republicans say they won’t give up, they will simply attach it to a "must pass" spending bill.
96,000 Americans have pledged to put themselves at risk of arrest during protests if Keystone is approved.
"It’s encouraging to see President Obama stand up to the bullies in Congress who want to ram this project through. Keystone would be a disaster for our climate and wildlife, so here’s hoping this is his first step toward killing this project once and for all. Keystone and projects like it have driven us into the climate crisis. The first step toward getting us out of this hole is to stop digging deeper," says Peter Galvin, Director of Programs at Center for Biological Diversity.
"The pipeline clearly fails the climate test that the President set last year, particularly with low oil prices. As he’s said, this pipeline isn’t about helping Americans, it’s only about helping Big Oil in Canada. We look forward to a veto, a rejection, and moving forward with the important business of creating a clean energy future that will benefit all of us," says Steve Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called out Republicans for beginning the 114th Congress with such a divisive issue after all their talk about "bipartisanship." "If we are going to move forward on something, how about something that more of us can agree on?," she told the Boston Herald.
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