U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a
co-sponsor of the legislation, said the bill had as much bipartisan support of
anything the Senate has done in months.
“We had nine Democrats who voted in
support of that bill, it was overwhelming. All of the barriers were broken
down,” Manchin said during an appearance on Fox News following the veto.
TransCanada’s proposed 1,200-mile
pipeline would cross an international boundary by carrying crude oil from the
tar sands in Alberta , Canada , to Nebraska ,
en route to Gulf Coast
and Midwest refineries.
Manchin said you need to look no
further than a recent event in West
Virginia
“We just had a horrific train
derailment with an explosion in West Virginia moving this oil through different
parts of the country—-that being said, everyone of the State Department’s
reports said it would be much safer, environmentally safer and safer to humans,
if it would travel by pipeline than rail or road,” Manchin said.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito
also thought back to last week’s derailment in Fayette County
“President Obama’s veto of the
Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act is a disappointment to West Virginians
impacted by the recent train derailment in Fayette County
Third District Congressman Evan
Jenkins was also critical of the President’s veto.
“Today’s veto shows just how
determined President Obama is to place politics ahead of people. The Keystone
XL pipeline would reduce our dependence on oil from the Middle
East . By vetoing the Keystone XL pipeline, the president has said
no to new jobs, no to secure energy, and no to working together with Congress,”
Jenkins said.
Second District Congressman Alex
Mooney also released a statement:
“With the veto of the Keystone XL,
President Obama has firmly planted his banner behind radical
environmentalists. Republicans and Democrats came together this year and
passed this common-sense bill to create thousands of new jobs and reduce energy
prices for hardworking American families.”
