The new Republican Congress is sworn in and ready to work. Its first task is to pass a bill that would permit a massive shovel-ready infrastructure project that will create thousands of jobs. This might sound familiar, as it is a bit like what President Obama did when he first took office. The only difference is that this project is privately funded — it won’t cost taxpayers a dime — and it is an oil pipeline that Obama’s radical environmentalist base opposes.
It became clear during the last Congress that the bill to permit construction of the Keystone XL pipeline has bipartisan support. Its new version has 60 Senate co-sponsors, meaning there is no question of a filibuster and so it will easily pass both houses. The project will not only put many more Americans to work immediately and in the short run, but it will also have a lasting stimulative effect. It will help the booming oil industry in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana get its product to market more cheaply and safely than the current arrangement by rail. It will also help promote North American energy independence.
Unfortunately, Obama has promised to veto the bill that would grant permission for this private construction project. Environmental activists who oppose the use of oil in principle have frightened Obama to the point that he has declined to issue the permit for several years.
For four years, Obama has complained about obstruction by his opposition, claiming that America “can’t wait” for constitutional checks and balances. But after Americans rejected his policies in November’s elections, the shoe is now on the other foot. Obama himself is the only remaining obstruction. If he follows through on his veto threat, he will be placing the fringe of his party ahead of American jobs.
The Keystone debate will also mark a return to openness in the U.S. Senate. In a reversal from the time when Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was majority leader, senators will once again be free to propose amendments.
Of course, that doesn’t mean all of the amendments proposed will be good ones. For example, one Democratic amendment would bar the oil in the pipeline from being exported once it reaches the Gulf Coast. This manifests simple ignorance about how international commodity markets work. In the real world, oil produced in the United States and Canada brings down the world price regardless of where it is sold.
Most of the other amendments are irrelevant to the project’s merits. One attempts to dictate the origin of the steel used in the project, whereas others would require completely unrelated subsidies for solar power and (suddenly much cheaper) heating oil.
The Senate should pass the Keystone XL bill with as few silly, distracting amendments as possible. And Obama should sign it. As he might have once put it, Americans want to work, and they “can’t wait” for Democrats to get the fringe elements of their party under control.
