Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Lucas today delivered the following remarks after President Barack Obama visited an oil pipe yard near Cushing, Okla. where he touted his Administration’s energy policies.

 “I am pleased President Obama made the trip to Oklahoma’s Third Congressional District to discuss domestic energy and see the great work taking place in Cushing,” said Lucas. “The president announced that he will expedite permits to build a portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline from Cushing to the Texas Gulf Coast. While this sounds encouraging, his approval of this leg of the project is not required. In fact, The Army Corps of Engineers hands out around 90,000 similar permits each year. The president is trying to take credit for a project he has actually rejected twice, and I believe his trip is nothing more than a campaign stop.

 “Ironically, President Obama has failed to approve of the entire Keystone XL Pipeline project. His approval is needed so TransCanada can move forward with construction of the northern portion of the pipeline, which would carry oil from the Canadian oil sands down south to Cushing. This project would create 20,000 construction jobs and potentially 250,000 direct and indirect jobs in the U.S.  In Oklahoma, we would see $1.2 billion in new spending and more than 14,400 person years of employment added to the state. Additionally, implementation of this project would increase our domestic oil supply by 700,000 barrels per day, while in-turn decreasing the amount of money Americans are paying at the gas pumps.

 “If President Obama is serious about increasing our domestic oil supply and putting Americans back to work, he will approve of the Keystone XL Pipeline project in its entirety.”

–30–