Describing the project as a “no-brainer,” former President George W. Bush called on President Barack Obama last week to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
“I think the goal of the country ought to be ‘how do we grow the private sector?'” Bush said Thursday at a conference for oil and gas executives in Pittsgburg, according to DeSmogBlog. “That ought to be the laser-focus of any administration. And therefore, once that’s the goal, an issue like Keystone pipeline becomes a no-brainer.”
“If private sector growth is the goal and Keystone XL pipeline creates 20,000 new private sector jobs, build the damn thing,” he added, reportedly drawing applause from the attendees.
Opponents to the Keystone XL pipeline have disputed the notion that the project would generate that many jobs. Obama said in the summer there’s “no evidence” that it would create as many jobs as Bush and other conservatives have claimed.
The President said in June that he will only sign off on the project if it does not “significantly” increase carbon pollution.
