Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Rick Berg condemned President Obama for waging a “personal campaign” against Senate John Hoeven’s proposal to grant Congress authority to approve the permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

A House leader in efforts to move forward Keystone XL construction, Berg called for the President to end recent attempts to block Hoeven’s bipartisan proposal.

“In addition to creating much needed jobs for our country, Senator John Hoeven’s Keystone XL proposal would make huge strides in our nation’s efforts to reach energy independence, while also relieving significant truck traffic on our overburdened roads here in North Dakota—and I am proud to be helping to advance these efforts in the House,” Berg stated.  “With national unemployment still remaining high at over 8 percent and gas approaching $4.00 a gallon, it is absurd that President Obama is waging a personal campaign against this common sense legislation when he should instead be looking to North Dakota for solutions to the challenges facing our nation.  John and I have worked together for over a decade, fostering pro-growth policies in North Dakota— and no matter how many personal phone calls the President makes to his friends in the Democrat Senate, we will continue to work to bring those same blueprints for success to our nation.”

Berg has helped lead House’s efforts to move forward the Keystone XL project by helping to introduce the North American Energy Access Act, legislation that would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority and oversight over the pipeline’s permit and construction.  He has also co-sponsored the House counterpart to Hoeven’s proposal, the Energizing America through Employment Act, which would grant Congress authority to approve the project.

A recent report from Politico describes how the President has been “personally lobbying Democrats to reject an amendment” authored by Hoeven:

The White House lobbying effort, including phone calls from the president to Democrats, signals that the vote could be close when it heads to the floor Thursday. The president is trying to defeat an amendment that would give election-year fodder to his Republican critics who have accused him of blocking a job-creating energy project at a time of high gas prices.

The amendment, proposed by Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), states that Obama would have no role in such cross-border permitting decisions since, in this case, the pipeline would originate in Canada. The measure would need 60 votes to pass, and Obama has already lost two Democrats who back the proposal - Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mary Landrieu - and is at risk of losing more moderates and vulnerable Democrats. (Manu Raju, “Obama lobbying Dems over pipeline,” Politico, 03/07/2012)

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