President Obama announced he was rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline project Wednesday, blaming Republicans in Congress for forcing him to make a decision. The pipeline would have transported up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Oklahoma and Texas. “This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people,” Obama said in a statement. “I’m disappointed that Republicans … More

President Obama’s politically intoned decision to reject TransCanada’s permit application to construct a 1,700-mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas refineries sent a clear message that special interest demands are of more importance than more energy and much-needed job creation. Building the pipeline would bring over 700,000 barrels of oil per day and directly create 20,000 truly shovel-ready jobs. The Canadian Energy Research Institute estimates that current pipeline operations and the addition of the Keystone XL pipeline would create 179,000 American jobs by 2035. Since TransCanada and Nebraska politicians have … More

The Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring 700,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to refineries in Texas and give a major boost to the U.S. economy, is the hot-button issue when it comes to the payroll tax cut package. The legislation says that the President should issue a permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline 60 days after enactment of the legislation unless the President finds that the project is not in the national interest. Representatives Henry Waxman (D–CA) and Ed Markey (D–MA) told Politico that … More

If something is too big to swallow, you cut it into bite-sized pieces.  But that won’t improve the taste—unless you jettison any stinky stuff. Likewise, the notion of splitting-up President Obama’s Senate-rejected 326-page “jobs bill” won’t improve any of the proposals. It’s good that the break-up would prevent the classic congressional strategy of blending the good and the bad together into one piece of legislation.  That strategy expects that Congressmen will hold their noses and vote for a package when they’re not given a choice to remove the worst parts. … More

The April 20, 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico devastated the Gulf economy, which, more than a year later, has yet to fully recover from the disaster. In en effort to explore relief efforts and “lessons learned” from the spill, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hold a field hearing in Pensacola, FL, on Monday. Witnesses for the hearing will include Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Adam Putnam, Pensacola Chamber of Commerce Chairman Collier Merrill, and others involved in the local economy. The hearing … More

As Americans continue to feel the effects of President Obama’s anti-oil agenda at the pump, defensive liberals are circling back to a familiar line of counter-attack: blame Bush.  The media vacuum on gas prices has made this line of attack all the more promising with very little national coverage being given to the president’s destructive…

Anyone who has ever watched Law & Order knows that someone is held in contempt of court when they egregiously disrespect the role of the court and the rule of law. Holding someone in contempt is a powerful sanction in a judge’s arsenal to redress an intentional disregard for the law and the courts. So…

Congress was unable to pass an oil spill bill in response to the Macondo well blowout last year, and now policymakers are eager to return to the issue. The largest outstanding issue is undoubtedly the oil spill liability or the secondary costs that stem from offshore oil and gas accidents. The law currently caps liability…

“There will be no earmarks in the 112th Congress. Period.” That is what House Majority Leader-elect Eric Cantor (R-VA) tweeted in response to a Politico article last week reporting that some GOP House members were contemplating breaking their no-earmark pledge. Good for Cantor. Ending earmarking is an essential step toward cutting Washington spending. Unfortunately some…

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) announced today he would block the confirmation of Dr. Scott Doney to be chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration due to “concerns over scientific integrity at federal agencies and the White House.” These concerns stem from the recent Gulf offshore drilling moratorium and the ongoing lag in permit…