The President kept his word and cast a veto of the above pipeline. Obama indicated congress's passage of the legislation was an act that conflicts with established executive branch procedures. He also reported that the process to evaluate the pipeline is still in progress.
The republicans response was the same old story of how the President gave in to the environmental extremist and vowed to continue the fight. Louisiana's U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy said Obama's veto shows allegiance to his supporters. I guess that means the republicans vote to pass the legislation shows their allegiance to the oil and gas industry. Is this supposed to be a checkmate game the republicans are playing?
This writer in a previous commentary pointed out how the pipeline, if built, will do nothing that the republicans claim it would do and why. In fact the CEO's of the Canada pipeline still can not tell America how much of that oil will stay in the United States. The Company also wants to claim eminent domain of the private property of land owners where the pipline will pass. That is now tied up in the courts.
The bottom line is that the republican controlled congress failed to produce positive legislation at a time when the country should be moving forward on issues the President will sign into law. Minimum wage, Immigration Reform, rebuilding the nations infrastructure and etc., that will create more jobs than the pipeline and over a longer period of time. And to make things worse the U.S. House has said they are ready to shut down the Home Land Security Department if funding is not tied to the repeal of the President's executive order on immigration.
Taking over control of Congress should be a humble experience for the republicans to produce for the country and its people but todays republican ideology is self defeating because they do not want this administration to be successful. They can not articulate any positive economic policy that came out of the last republican administration so they lack any original thought as what to do now except obstruct. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
