GOP Address: Stop Stalling on Energy Projects - East Idaho News
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GOP Address: Stop Stalling on Energy Projects

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GETTY P 011312 JohnHoeven?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1326509570254KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — In this week’s Republican address, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven calls on the President and his colleagues in Washington to act on stalled energy projects, namely the Keystone XL pipeline.  With these projects inactive, Hoeven cites a report by the Chamber of Commerce that says the American economy is set back $1.1 trillion in lost economic impact and is losing out on nearly two million jobs.

But, touting the economic successes of his home state, the former North Dakota governor says temporary stimulus measures are not the remedy for the country’s financial troubles.  Instead, “empowering the private sector — by building the kind of legal, tax and regulatory climate that encourages private investment” is necessary for economic growth.

President Obama and his administration are doing just the opposite by saying ‘no’ to the pipeline project, Sen. Hoeven says.

“A week ago, newspapers across the country ran a story warning consumers that gasoline could rise to more than $4.00 a gallon this year. In the same week, we saw world markets react nervously to the standoff between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz — through which one-third of the world’s seaborne oil is now shipped. Combine all of this with growing global demand for oil, especially in China, and we have a recipe for dramatically higher energy prices and more personal hardship for working Americans,” Sen. Hoeven says in the address.
 
“Yet the President is saying ‘no’ to the Keystone XL pipeline, he’s saying ‘no’ to a project that will bring more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day from our friend and ally, Canada, and he’s virtually assuring continued reliance on the Middle East. That makes no sense, and it’s a matter of great concern for our national security, particularly with what’s going on in Iran,” he adds.

Hoeven warns Americans what will happen if work on the pipeline does not begin.

“The point is this: If the Keystone XL pipeline isn’t built, Canadian oil will still be produced and transported — 700,000 barrels a day of it — but instead of coming to our refineries in the United States, instead of creating jobs for our people, instead of reducing our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and keeping down the cost of fuel for American consumers — that oil will be sent to China,” Sen. Hoeven cautions.

Criticizing the president for holding off on the pipeline until after the election, Sen. Hoeven tells Americans in the address that private-sector projects such as Keystone “will get our nation working again.”

“And that’s the larger point here.  We must empower private investment and create sustainable jobs through private enterprise to lift up our country. … That’s the approach that ensure a brighter future for our children,” he says.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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