Senator Inhofe Rips “Reckless” Obama Over Pipeline

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has blasted President Barack Obama for siding with “radical” environmentalists and shelving plans for the Keystone XL pipeline.

The 1,700-mile pipeline would have brought oil from Canada to refineries in Texas, created thousands of jobs, and lessened America’s reliance on Middle East oil. Environmentalists claimed it posed the threat of an oil leak.

House Republicans gave Obama 60 days to approve or reject the $7 billion project, but Obama said the deadline did not allow time to assess the environmental and health impacts and squelched the pipeline plan, at least for the immediate future.

Inhofe released the following statement: "President Obama sided with his radical environmental friends and their job-killing global warming agenda instead of a majority of the American people who would have welcomed the tens of thousands of jobs the Keystone pipeline would have created.

"President Obama's decision shows his unwavering commitment to his global warming agenda which seeks to eliminate oil, gas, and coal, and raise energy and gas prices on every American.

"President Obama has now squandered one of the best job-creating opportunities he has ever had.

"Given the current tensions with Iran over its nuclear program and their threats to choke off the Strait of Hormuz, the president's decision was reckless — with little regard to the threat America faces from its dependence on Middle East oil.

"Global warming alarmist Bill McKibben said that the president's decision was 'brave.' Well, he is taking a big risk: By killing jobs today he could very well lose his own job come November."

Inhofe told Newsmax in an interview last year that the Obama administration is “trying to kill oil and gas” by refusing to allow the United States to exploit its abundant natural resources in an effort to drive the country toward green energy.

Inhofe is a steadfast critic of manmade global warming alarmists. His new book “The Hoax,” due out in August, focuses on what he calls the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people — that catastrophic global warming is the result of manmade gases.