The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reacted to President Barack Obama’s remarks on the Keystone XL pipeline Tuesday, in which he said that he would direct the State Department to only approve construction of the project only if it does not “significantly” increase carbon pollution.
“If President Obama trusts his own State Department’s analysis, then he will approve the Keystone XL pipeline,” Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, said in a statement Tuesday. “The State Department’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement found that building Keystone will have no significant impact on the environment. The president has repeatedly committed to following the well-established process for reviewing the Keystone XL pipeline; now it appears that the president is changing the rules of the game. His decision will send a clear message to American workers as to whether he really cares about jobs, and it will send a clear message to our allies as to whether America is a dependable and trustworthy friend.”