U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), one of Congress’ biggest supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline, expressed his disappointment over the Senate’s rejection of the project.
“If there was ever legislation that should be enthusiastically approved by President (Barack) Obama and his supporters in the Senate, it should be the Keystone XL pipeline,” Cassidy said. “I introduced, and the House of Representatives passed, the Cassidy Keystone bill to make it as easy as possible for the Senate to get a bill to the president’s desk. The Senate should have approved it today—it should have approved it six years ago.”
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) pushed for approval in the Senate and believed she had enough support from fellow Democrats to pass the bill, but fell short. The Senate voted 59 to 41 in favor of the project, just one vote short of sending the bill to the president’s desk.
Cassidy and Landrieu will have a runoff election for Landrieu’s Senate seat on Dec. 6.
“Louisiana families need better jobs, better wages and better benefits,” Cassidy said. “This can be achieved by supporting projects like Keystone that come from using North America’s natural resources. The president must listen to the American people who desire better jobs and stop opposing energy development opportunities that create these jobs.”