For Immediate Release
WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives passed today the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (H.R. 3630), which included key provisions to force the Obama administration to make a decision regarding the Keystone XL pipeline and limit the regulatory burdens that the Environment Protection Agency wishes to impose on boilers and waste incinerators. AEA’s President Tom Pyle released the following statement after the vote:
“The single greatest obstacle to unleashing the power of North American energy and creating much-needed jobs in the U.S. energy sector is the U.S. government. The president’s threat to veto H.R. 3630, and the threat of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to use procedural games to block a straight up-or-down vote on the bill, means that jobs and money will continue to go overseas. The American people have a right to know why their government would rather send jobs and money to unstable oil regimes than to increase trade with our closest North American ally and create good-paying American jobs.
“North America is sitting on more than 1.7 trillion barrels of recoverable oil — more than 6 times the proved reserves of Saudi Arabia. This month, the Institute for Energy Research released a groundbreaking study of North America’s total energy resources. The facts are clear: regulatory barriers and bureaucratic delays now compromise our energy security and hurt our economic recovery. Building the Keystone XL Pipeline and reducing the cost of new regulations on American job creators must become the top priority of both Republicans and Democrats. The passage of H.R. 3630 is an important and needed step to meet the challenges of America’s energy future.”
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