In light of the State Department's approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project, the only reason for President Barack Obama not to approve the project is political, says Indiana Rep. Larry Bucshon.
"This is about job creation, and for the president, it's about politics," Bucshon told J.D. Hayworth on "America's Forum" on
Newsmax TV Monday.
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"The State Department has conducted five reviews encompassing over 22,000 pages showing that this is in the best interest of our economy and the environment.
"The State Department itself said 42,100 jobs [will be created by the Keystone pipeline project], many temporary of course, but all infrastructure projects are temporary jobs," Bucshon said.
"This is about politics, this isn't about the facts, and the House showed that last week," he added. "We had a bipartisan vote, we'll have 63 votes or so in the Senate and we'll see what the president decides."
However, the Indiana Republican said that if Obama vetoes the Keystone measure he's not confident that Congress will have enough votes to override the veto.
"Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came out last week and said they're going to take a hard line and stick with the president, which is unfortunate, and she's going to twist the arms of many of her members to not help us override the veto," Bucshon said.
"In the Senate, there's a real opportunity — we have 63 votes and we need four votes or more," he said.
"Once the Democrats see what happens in the public eye, so to speak, or in the media once the president vetoes the bill, then we may very well be able to get those four votes," he said.
"In the House, it's going to be difficult."
Bucshon said that the House could override a presidential veto "if that caucus portion of the Democrats decides to go against the speaker ... but it's unlikely."