Boehner: Build Keystone for Job Growth

House Speaker John Boehner reacted quickly to the weak jobs report on Friday, criticizing the Administration for what he called “the worst jobs recovery in history.” Boehner urged Obama to remove obstacles to job-creating efforts, specifically construction of the Keystone pipeline.

“We are ready to improve job training, expand markets for American exports, approve the Keystone pipeline, and much more,” Boehner said in a statement. “The president and his party’s leaders, however, are standing in the way. Their failure to lead has resulted in the worst jobs recovery in history and, as we learned this week, their health care law will drive millions out of an already-diminished labor force.”

Earlier this week, the State Department removed a final obstacle to construction of the pipeline. Its final report concluded that the pipeline didn’t have any major environmental impact and wouldn’t contribute to an increase in greenhouse gases. The White House merely to give the project formal approval for construction to begin. 

Construction of the pipeline would create thousands of jobs. More importantly, it would increase the supply of domestic energy, providing jobs in refining and lowering energy costs. 

Currently, oil from Canada’s tar sands are transported by rail. Several high-profile, and fatal, train derailments have highlighted the increased safety of transporting oil by pipeline.