By Keith Reid
Surprising no one who has been paying attention to actions instead of words during the past six years, President Obama issued his first veto since 2010, and only his third since he has been in office, when he killed legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline that was brought to his desk on Feb. 24. The bill passed with some degree of bipartisan support—270-152 in the House and 62-36 in the Senate. The numbers were lacking to override the veto.
Obama stated: “The Presidential power to veto legislation is one I take seriously. But I also take seriously my responsibility to the American people. And because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest—including our security, safety and environment—it has earned my veto.”
The president was referencing the fact that the legislation was put on his desk before a State Department review of the pipeline had been completed. Opponents readily point out that the ongoing review by the current administration’s State Department has gone on for over six years, and appears to be functioning as a delaying tactic.
This, of course, is the same administration that routinely bypasses Congress on other environmental issues to accomplish through government agencies and regulation what cannot be passed through cap and trade legislation. The same administration that bypassed Congress to implement an executive amnesty. The same administration that bypassed Congress to modify components of the already passed Affordable Care Act. The list goes on.
This is the same administration that routinely takes credit for America’s shale energy revolution during major public speeches, while working aggressively to stunt that revolution at every turn through the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Land Management. With little doubt this is the most hostile administration to fossil fuels in our history, and one that is not even all that friendly to biofuels, of late. Nixon’s price and allocation controls of the 1970s have to be considered, but ultimately they were more hostile to free markets and consumers than the fuels—not that the current administration comes up particularly short in those areas.
This is the same administration that expresses openness to approving the Keystone XL pipeline during election season(s), but when it comes time to walk the walk after the election the veto pen comes out. A recent PEW poll indicates that 61% of Americans favor building the pipeline while only 27% are opposed—couldn’t have them making an informed vote.
FMN has covered the underlying issues relevant to the Keystone XL pipeline as it moved through the recent legislative process, and opinions of the various parties in a previous Policy Brief. It should be no surprise to see those same opinions echoed today. Environmental activists are happy, while labor unions (a traditional Democratic Party ally getting thrown under the bus) and the oil industry are unhappy.
“This misguided Keystone XL bill, pushed by the fossil fuel industry, has met its just and expected doom,” said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The president got it exactly right by vetoing it. Congress should stop wasting any more time pushing dirty energy projects that would worsen climate change and threaten our air, water and land. Instead, lawmakers should work to promote renewable wind and solar power, and reduce waste through energy efficiency measures that will save consumers money, improve the economy and combat dangerous climate change. And the president should move quickly to reject the proposed tar sands pipeline once and for all. It is simply not in the national interest.”
“Given that the administration has done everything it can to delay and block the creation of good construction careers on the Keystone XL Pipeline, the veto can be described with two words: disgustingly predictable,” noted Laborers’ International Union of North America General President Terry O’Sullivan.
API President and CEO Jack Gerard criticized the president’s veto of the bipartisan Keystone XL legislation.
“We urge President Obama to look at his administration’s State Department review of KXL and see that the facts and the science back approval of this pipeline,” said Gerard. “We agree with his commentary on bipartisan cooperation and the need to move forward on critical infrastructure projects, and the importance of securing an American economy that supports the middle class. But instead of saying yes to 42,000 good paying jobs and enhanced North American energy security, this veto proved once again that it’s politics as usual here in Washington.
“Instead of standing with 72% of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, who support the pipeline, this decision continues us down the path of indecision and delay. Voters spoke loud and clear last fall, saying they wanted Washington to work together. Unfortunately, the veto today demonstrates some are not listening.”
John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, the Republican leadership in the House and Senate, offered their response as to what’s next in an Op-Ed: “The allure of appeasing environmental extremists may be too powerful for the president to ignore. But the president is sadly mistaken if he thinks vetoing this bill will end this fight. Far from it. We are just getting started.”
Let’s hope they move beyond “just getting started” and find a way to actually finish something, for a change.
