Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to remove the bureaucratic roadblocks that have delayed the administration’s approval of the Keystone XL pipeline application.  The proposed cross-border oil pipeline would stretch from Alberta, Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast, supplying approximately 50 percent of United States’ oil imports.  The $7 billion project is expected to stimulate $20 billion in new spending for the U.S. economy and spur the creation of 118,000 jobs.  Upton urged Secretary Clinton to promptly approve the Presidential permit application.

In his letter to Secretary Clinton, Upton wrote, "As my old boss, President Ronald Reagan, once said, 'Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.'  Government is currently standing in the way of this $7 billion privately funded project, which is expected to stimulate $20 billion in new spending for the U.S. economy and spur the creation of 118,000 jobs.  Our number one priority must be job creation, and this is a prime example of the over-burdensome regulatory system that is killing the private sector.  Government must stand back and allow the U.S. economy to rebound. If not we will continue to see our jobs go overseas… Canada is our ally and neighbor, so shifting our imports from hostile regimes to a friendly one is a no-brainer.”

Upton is co-chair of the House Republicans’ American Energy Solutions Group and a strong supporter of the “all of the above” American Energy Act (H.R. 2846) to fortify the nation's energy needs through increased production of domestic natural resources.

Read the full text of Upton's letter here.