President Barack Obama has already made up his mind on whether to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, so he should stop delaying the announcement, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman says.
"My sense is he's trying to decide between his environmental left supporters and labor unions who want to put their workers back to work, which is what we should be doing," Heineman said Wednesday on Fox News Channel's
"Your World with Neil Cavuto."
Obama has been delaying a decision for five years since TransCanada first applied for a permit to build the pipeline through the U.S. heartland, eventually connecting with refineries along the coast of Texas and Louisiana.
Environmentalists oppose the plan, saying it would contribute to climate change. A State Department report found the pipeline would cause no significant impact, but opponents also fear a pipeline leak would damage the environment.
Heineman told Cavuto he was surprised Obama was even considering making the announcement this year.
"I thought this might go on for the remainder of his term," he said, because there appears to be no legitimate reason for the delay.
Heineman did not address
last week's ruling by a Nebraska state judge who determined that a law giving the governor power to decide whether the pipeline could pass through the state was illegal. Such power has been reserved for the Nebraska Public Service Commission.
"This court decision provides more uncertainty for pipeline proponents, and more time to organize for pipeline opponents," Dan Weiss, a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, which opposes the plan, told Thomson/Reuters.
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.