Representative and US Senate candidate Bill Cassidy (R-LA) touted his support for the Keystone XL pipeline and stated his opposition to the president’s executive action during the GOP weekly address on Saturday.
Transcript (via ABC News Radio) as Follows:
“Hello. I’m Doctor Bill Cassidy.
I’ve had the privilege of representing the 6th Congressional District of Louisiana.
As a doctor, I’ve worked in Louisiana’s public hospital system treating the uninsured and underinsured for 25 years.
When my patients tell me about their health concerns, they also tell me they are worried about the economy, their jobs, the direction of our country.
Many families, many Louisiana families, are struggling.
They need better jobs, better wages, better benefits.
We have the opportunity to create these jobs. It starts with developing North America’s natural resources and securing America’s energy independence now.
That’s why I’ve been fighting for job-creating projects like the Keystone XL pipeline.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Cassidy Keystone bill which would approve the construction of this pipeline. This is the ninth time the House has voted to build the Keystone pipeline.
Building Keystone would create more than 40,000 high-paying jobs, putting billions of dollars in workers’ pockets, and give a much needed boost to America’s construction industry.
Manufacturers and their employees throughout the economy also benefit from the construction of this infrastructure project.
Refiners in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast benefit from a reliable supply of heavy crude, including American oil from North Dakota, which would be transported through the pipeline.
More than 60 percent of Americans support building the pipeline.
The State Department review found that the pipeline would have little or no impact on the environment. And it will also save lives, because when oil is transported by train or truck inevitably there are accidents and workers may die.
Yet President Obama doesn’t seem to care.
The case for approving the pipeline is clear and obvious. This is a perfect example of what the American people want President Obama and Congress to do. Americans’ frustration with the President’s failure to strengthen the economy, create jobs and make America energy secure was evident in the election November 4th.
But more than six years after the Keystone application was first submitted, the pipeline has still not been approved.
This is six years too long.
So why hasn’t President Obama approved?
Why did it take Louisiana’s Senior Senator nearly 3,000 days to do something about it?
If there was ever legislation that should be easy to get through the United States Senate, it is the Keystone XL pipeline.
When the House passed the Cassidy Keystone bill, we made it as easy as possible for the Senate to get a bill to the President’s desk.
The Cassidy bill contained the legislative language proposed by the Senate.
I worked with colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass this version as quickly as possible. It passed with strong Republican and Democrat support.
Unfortunately, President Obama and his supporters in the Senate oppose the Keystone jobs.
It is time for the President to approve these jobs.
But this isn’t just about Keystone. Keystone has become a symbol for the need to achieve North American energy independence.
We need to expand access for energy production both on and offshore, and to allow the development of the infrastructure to transport fuel to the American people.
That’s why Americans spoke loud and clear on November 4th. They want Congress to work together to do what’s right for the American people. They rejected President Obama’s agenda that discourages the creation of manufacturing and construction jobs – the jobs that would be created because of projects like Keystone.
Americans voted for Republicans. Republicans – we are the party of jobs.
And on December 6th, it’s the people of Louisiana’s turn to be heard.
We, the people of Louisiana will decide whether we want someone in the Senate who represents President Obama, or who represents us. Someone who will work hard for jobs in Louisiana all the time, not just when their job is on the line.
Someone who will repeal and replace Obamacare with patient-centered solutions;
Who will push back on the EPA’s job-killing regulations;
Who will fight against President Obama’s executive amnesty;
Who will defend our second amendment rights;
And who will push to get the Keystone pipeline and other energy development projects built.
I’m running for the United States Senate because I am that person. Louisiana needs a Senator who can pass Keystone. Louisiana does not need a Senator who supports President Obama 97 percent of the time; we need a Senator who supports us, the people of Louisiana, 100 percent of the time.
Representing the people of Louisiana is a great honor. On December 6th, Louisiana will choose our next U.S. Senator. My commitment to you is that if you choose me, Bill Cassidy, I will do my best to live up to that honor.
Thank you. God bless America, and God bless the great state of Louisiana.”
Follow Ian Hanchett @IanHanchett