Washington — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) made the following remarks Tuesday after President Obama vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline legislation:

“The president’s veto is very unfortunate. However you evaluate the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, it makes sense to build it.

“It creates thousands of construction jobs.   If you’re concerned about the environment, which we all are, the State Department’s own studies showed that it would produce less carbon dioxide to move oil from Canada by Keystone than by any other method.  The pipeline also creates downward pressure on energy prices. If we want a manufacturing-based economy — if we want to grow our economy — we need energy, and cheap energy is better than expensive energy.

“Let’s not deny ourselves the efficient use of our energy resources. Let’s keep energy plentiful and cheap in this country. The oil from Canada will be burned, if not by us, then probably by China, which doesn’t have pollution controls to match ours. 

“No matter how you slice it, the pipeline should be constructed. It is unfortunate that President Obama would veto a bill passed with strong bipartisan support in both chambers. The veto doesn’t make any sense and is the result of a president beholden to environmental extremists in his party. The American people want the pipeline. The president should have listened to them.”

###