Time For President to Listen To The American People, Approve Keystone

It’s ironic in a lot of ways because the President came to the people's House to give his State of the Union speech. That's the House of Representatives. But his speech was anything but ‘for the people.’

At least to my mind, reality wasn’t what was driving the President's remarks. If it was, he would have focused on the biggest concerns that Americans have right now.

But sometimes you can tell a lot from what a person doesn't say. And in this case, the President spoke more than 6,000 words, and he didn't mention the word Keystone in one of them.

So instead of using this opportunity when millions of Americans and people around the world were listening to the President to lay out sound reasons why he continues to oppose this jobs and infrastructure project year after year, the President merely said, ‘We should look beyond a single pipeline to meet America's infrastructure needs.’

One person in particular I want to close with is a gentleman I met by the name of Mr. Kenneth Edwards who is the Vice President of the United Association, the Union of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders, and Service Techs.

Mr. Edwards speaks on behalf of many union workers nationwide who, as he put it, earn their living from a series of temporary jobs that happen to add up to a lifelong career. He told me last week he wants the President to put his famous veto pen away and to take out his approval pen and to sign his approval of this project right away.

With the Keystone XL pipeline bill that a bipartisan majority of Congress will soon send his way, we are presenting him an opportunity. An opportunity to say I heard the message that the voters delivered on November the 4th, and I heard the American people say we're tired of the dysfunction in Washington, D.C.