“So it just makes sense to get this bipartisan [Keystone XL pipeline] legislation to the President [Obama] for his signature. We hope he’ll sign Keystone’s jobs into law,” McConnell said.
Construction of the Keystone infrastructure project will pump billions into the economy and support thousands of jobs, with minimal impact to the environment, the Kentucky Republican added.
The White House and Obama have threatened to veto the controversial project should the bill be presented to the president. The US Republican-controlled House recently passed the Keystone XL pipeline bill saying that the project would help the US economy by creating jobs.
“It would show their Congress is capable of defying the type of powerful special interests who oppose Keystone, so we can get things done for the middle class,” the Senator explained.
McConnell also stressed that the Republican-controlled Congress wanted to get Washington functioning again along with passing common-sense ideas.
“The Keystone debate is showing how we can do both,” the Senator concluded.
A final State Department Environmental Impact Statement released in January said that there would be no significant environmental impact from the project, although activists warned that the Keystone pipeline will have a detrimental effect.
The Keystone XL Pipeline project would allow TransCanada to build and operate an oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the US Gulf Coast.
