Washington, D.C. — 

Senator John Thune participated in a press conference earlier today with some of his Republican Senate colleagues in support of legislation that would force the Obama Administration to issue a construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project within 60 days. President Obama recently delayed this $7 billion job creating construction project until after the 2012 election. The Keystone XL pipeline is expected to create 20,000 direct jobs in construction and manufacturing of the pipeline. Recent actions by the state of Nebraska have addressed previous concerns about the proposed routing of the pipeline, which effectively eliminates the Administration’s justification for delaying a decision.

“In delaying the Keystone XL pipeline decision until after the election, President Obama chose his own job over hundreds of jobs that could be created in South Dakota,” said Thune. “With 14 million Americans currently unemployed and a struggling economy, the Obama Administration owes the country an answer on whether it will approve this job-creating project now, not after the next election.”