Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) said on Friday that President Obama’s decision to delay a decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline is “embarrassing and unacceptable.”
“After five years, numerous environmental reviews and calls from hard working Americans to build this critical infrastructure project, the president’s announcement shows once again that he is playing politics with the Keystone pipeline,” Griffin said. “The president is waiting out this decision through the end of the 2014 election cycle to provide protection for his allies in Congress, while costing thousands of out-of-work Americans essential jobs. President Obama should do the right thing for our economy and allow the Keystone pipeline to be built.”
The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that the government comment period for the Keystone XL Pipeline will be extended, with a likely final decision not coming until after the midterm elections in November.
Because a segment of the pipeline crosses the international border between the U.S. and Canada, the pipeline requires a permit from the State Department.
Three phases of the Keystone Pipeline, which stretches from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin to refineries in the United States in Steele City, Nebraska; Wood River and Patoka, Illinois; and the Gulf Coast of Texas, are currently in operation, while the fourth awaits approval from the United States. The proposed system would cover 2,151 miles upon completion.