Reax Roundup: The Keystone XL Rejection, As Seen from Texas

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sen. John Cornyn isn't happy with the Obama administration's decision.

Today, the Obama administration formally rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, a multi-billion dollar project that would go 1,700 miles from the oil sands of Canada to refineries in Texas.

Here are some of the reactions from across the Texas universe and beyond, not one of which is unexpected:

• Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn: “The President has said he wakes up every morning thinking about jobs, but a decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline will do nothing but extend the jobs crisis and send thousands of U.S. jobs and valuable oil overseas.  It’s a terrible example of election-year politics where the American people are collateral damage.”
• The Natural Resources Defense Council: “The pipeline was rejected for all the right reasons. President Obama put the health and safety of the American people and our air, lands and water — our national interest — above the interests of the oil industry. His decision represents a triumph of truth over Big Oil’s bullying tactics and its disinformation campaign with wildly exaggerated jobs claims. If TransCanada reapplies, Keystone XL will still face the same valid public concerns and fierce opposition as the first time. No matter how many times it is proposed, Keystone XL is not in the national interest.’’
• Texas Association of Business President Bill Hammond: “President Obama has put politics ahead of jobs once again. While I am extremely disappointed by this decision, I am pleased that the door hasn’t been shut entirely on the project, and that a new application can be made using a new pipeline route. By doing that the President has effectively put off the final decision until after the November election, what he wanted to do all along. What he has also done is delay the creation of thousands of jobs and maintained our dependence on oil from countries that aren’t always friendly to the US.”
• Texas Governor (and struggling presidential candidate) Rick Perry: “The president’s focused more on the next election than on the next generation.” (via National Journal)
• The Texas Sierra Club (via Twitter): “Wahoo!!!”
• Harold Cook (also via Twitter): “I don’t blame President Obama – Keystone is a really crappy beer.#whatdidIsaywrong?”
• UPDATE: Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples has also weighed in: “At a time when we need private sector investment and hiring in our country, our President is closing the doors of opportunity. Texas farmers and ranchers also will suffer from this unreasonable decision as agriculture producers depend on low-cost energy to be competitive. This policy fails Texas, the United States and our neighbors in Canada. Furthermore, this decision increases our dependence on energy from an increasingly unstable part of the world.”