Washington, D.C. — 

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) today issued the following statement on the Senate Democrats’ latest blockade of the Keystone XL pipeline:  

“While Senate Republicans have spent the last six years working to get the job-creating Keystone XL pipeline approved, Senate Democrats have done all they can to block it. It’s disappointing that not until the job of one of their own was on the line did they finally lift their objection to voting on the pipeline. Even after all of the theatrics, a majority of Democrats still voted to block this common-sense, job-creating project.

“This fight is far from over. One of the first priorities of the new Republican majority next Congress will be to send the president a bill that approves the Keystone XL pipeline. Approving this project is a no-brainer. It would invest billions of dollars in the U.S. economy and would put thousands of Americans back to work, all at zero expense to the American taxpayer.”