Daines Urges Obama to Approve Keystone XL – Discourages Delayed Construction

Today Montana Senator Steve Daines condemned "the partisanship and political games," including President Barack Obama’s recent veto threat, that "have delayed the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline for more than six years."

Daines "criticized the years of gridlock that have held back the project and the hundreds of good-paying Montana jobs it would create" and called for immediate approval of the pipeline's construction.

"You know, I think the pipeline checks every box of common sense," Daines said. "It's environmentally sound, it creates jobs, it's economic opportunity, and it's going to help us toward North American energy independence. So the question, 'Why are we still waiting?' The American people have sent a strong message that they are ready to remove any roadblocks that President Obama tends to put in the way."

According to the State Department, the pipeline will support 42,000 jobs during its construction.

"The time for partisanship, the time for political games, is over," Daines said. "It is time this Congress and this government gets to work for the American people and start getting results for this country. The polls are clear: 67 percent of the American people want the Keystone XL pipeline approved. 75 percent of Montanans want the Keystone pipeline approved."

Up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day will be transported by the pipeline, including 100,000 from Montana and North Dakota’s Bakken formation.