Tim Scott: Obama Blocking Jobs with Energy Policy

President Barack Obama is "out of touch" because he does not take seriously the jobs that would be created through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project, South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott said Saturday.

“The President is so out of touch with unemployed Americans that he thinks tens of thousands of Keystone XL construction jobs are a ‘blip,’ and ‘not a jobs plan,’" the senator said in Saturday's GOP address, in which he slammed Obama's strategy for energy production.

"Opening access to responsible energy production will lower prices, create jobs, grow our economy, decrease dangerous dependence on foreign oil and lower the deficit by adding much needed revenue to the Treasury," Scott, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said.

Editor's Note: ‘This Wasn’t an Accident’ — Experts Testify on Financial Meltdown

But Obama is blocking efforts being made through his committee, Scott said, and the EPA is also hindering opportunity.

“Meanwhile, the new head of the EPA [Gina McCarthy] said she doesn’t want to talk about jobs anymore as she writes new job killing regulations that will put tens of thousands of Americans out of work," Scott said. “That’s not leadership."

Instead, Scott said, Obama's "failed leadership" on the nation's energy policy will cost all Americans more "when you buy food at the grocery store, take a family vacation, or turn your air conditioner on this summer."

But the government is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars trying to pick through the energy strategy, Scott said, and "this mindset disproportionately affects lower-income Americans, as energy costs consume a quarter of after-tax income for families making $30,000 or less."

It doesn't have to be this way, said Scott.

"When it comes to resources, no nation on Earth has more options at its disposal than America," he said. "Oil and natural gas alone support over 9 million American jobs and contribute more than $1 trillion to U.S. GDP per year."

However, the Obama Administration has "actively blocked and delayed" new energy production, which continues the nation's dependence on dangerous foreign countries, Scott said.

The Keystone pipeline is one such way the administration is blocking energy production, along with jobs.

"The Administration continues to block projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline, which could support 40,000 new jobs," Scott noted.

Further, energy production is down on federal lands and waters, he noted.

"When President Obama took office in 2009, nearly all of our offshore areas were newly open to American energy production," the senator said. "Today, President Obama has effectively re-imposed an offshore moratorium, blocking access to American oil and natural gas resources, preventing the creation of tens of thousands of American jobs and continuing our reliance on foreign oil.

Blocking offshore drilling is hindering job growth, said Scott, pointing to his own state, where offshore drilling would have the potential to create more than 7,500 new jobs and bring in $87.5 million in new state revenue, creating a statewide impact of more than $2.2 billion annually.

But on private lands, energy permits can be approved in just a few weeks, compared to more than 300 days for public lands becuse of "President Obama's anti-energy red tape."

“The cost of that delay means less job creation, less economic activity and less American energy," said Scott.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has a plan to jumpstart the economy with energy, "instead of playing politics" with it, said Scott.

“We want a true all-of-the-above energy strategy, because a diverse, market-based energy portfolio of nuclear, wind, solar and other renewables means more competition and lower prices for consumers," said Scott. "Republicans will work to stop government policies that are driving up energy costs preventing businesses from hiring new employees."

Editor's Note: ‘This Wasn’t an Accident’ — Experts Testify on Financial Meltdown