Soaring gas prices continue to hurt American families after a year of especially high fuel costs.  According to recently released data from the Department of Energy, U.S. households spent an average of $2,912 – or nearly 4 percent of their income – on gasoline in 2012.  The burden on budgets was the worst in three decades – rivaled only by similarly high costs in 2008.

Persistently steep gas prices and their harmful impact on American families underscore an urgent need for better energy policies.  Instead of pursuing an “all-of-the-above” approach, the Obama Administration has failed to seize opportunities that could boost the economy and advance America’s energy security.  Nowhere is this more evident than the President’s decision to punt on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Stretching from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, the long-awaited oil pipeline would provide an abundant and reliable energy supply to U.S. refineries.  It also promises to spur major economic development and create some 20,000 American jobs.  Paid for by private-sector dollars, Keystone XL is an economic stimulus that would not cost taxpayers. 

Playing Politics

It is disappointing that the Obama Administration continues to delay Keystone XL’s permit process, which has been pending now for more than four-and-a-half years. 
Early last year, the President bowed to pressure from radical opponents of the pipeline, who threatened to limit their support of his reelection bid.  He denied the permit request, putting politics ahead of America’s strategic interests and job creation.  Since then, TransCanada, the company behind Keystone XL, has proposed a new route and reapplied for a permit, which is currently under review by the State Department. 

I recently joined a bipartisan group of 53 Senators in urging President Obama to approve the pipeline without further delay.  The President can no longer use his thinly veiled past excuses now that objections to the pipeline’s route through Nebraska have been addressed.  Last month, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman approved the project after a state evaluation concluded that the pipeline would have minimal environmental impact. 

More Roadblocks

The Obama Administration is again trying to sideline the project, according to recent news reports – now pushing a decision about Keystone XL to at least June, despite the project’s widespread support and potential to put Americans to work right away. 

As The Washington Post editorial board wrote on January 23, “The president has even less reason to nix the project than he did last time.”  Keystone XL has already undergone the most extensive environmental evaluation of any U.S. pipeline.  The question of whether to move forward on this ready infrastructure project should not be in dispute.    

Looking Long-Term

A truly “all-of-the-above” strategy is essential to securing our country’s energy future.  Americans should not be hurt by prices at the pump because of overseas energy producers in politically uncertain areas.  We have a national interest in developing our own domestic resources and strengthening ties with stable and friendly energy trading partners like Canada, which the Keystone XL pipeline would do.  Canadian officials have suggested that they will turn to markets in Asia if the Obama Administration refuses to grant a permit for the project.  It is past time to seize this prime opportunity for economic growth and energy investment.