#1 Boehner’s Side:
“President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese. There’s really just no other way to put it,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “The president was given the authority to block this project only and only if he believes it’s not in the national interest of the United States. Is it not in the national interest to create tens of thousands of jobs here in America with private investment? Is it not in the national interest to get energy resources from an ally like Canada, as opposed to some countries in the Middle East?” (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/boehner-on-keystone-pipeline-president-is-selling-out-american-jobs-for-politics/)
#2 Obama’s Side:
The Obama administration on Wednesday denied a presidential permit for construction of the $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline, ruling that a proper environmental review could not be conducted before a 60-day deadline set by the U.S. Congress to rule on the controversial oil sands project.
But Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., the company behind the 2,700-kilometre pipeline, has been given the option of making a new application – and company officials confirmed they will propose an alternative route for Keystone XL that avoids environmentally sensitive areas in Nebraska.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. State Department said its decision was “predicated on the fact that the Department does not have sufficient time to obtain the information necessary to assess whether the project, in its current state, is in the national interest.”
It added, however, that “denial of the permit application does not preclude any subsequent permit application or applications for similar projects.” (http://www.canada.com/White+House+kills+Keystone+open+proposal/6017820/story.html)
#3 Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin’s Side:
“Environmentalists note that in December 2010, according to Boehner’s financial disclosure forms, he invested $10,000 to $50,000 each in seven firms that had a stake in Canada’s oil sands, the region that produces the oil the pipeline would transport. The firms include six oil companies-BP, Canadian Natural Resources, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, Devon Energy and Exxon-along with Emerson Electric, which has a contract to provide the digital automation for the first phase of a $9.4 billion Horizon Oil Sands Project in Canada.
Bill McKibben, a climate activist and co-founder of the group 350.org, wrote in an e-mail that Boehner has received more than $1 million from fossil-fuel companies, “and now we find out that he’s got extensive personal investments in companies dependent on tar sands oil.”
“He was willing to shut down the government in part to prevent enough time for serious environmental review,” McKibben added. “In any other facet of our public life . . . this whole list taken together would be seen for the gross conflict of interest that it is.”
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in an interview that an investment adviser chooses Boehner’s financial investments. “He doesn’t have any control over day-to-day trades, so there’s no conflict of interest on this or any other investment.” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-deadline-nears-friends-and-foes-of-keystone-xl-pipeline-step-up-campaigns/2012/01/13/gIQAyd7IzP_print.html)
Really!
No conflict? Just because an adviser makes the decisions for Mr. Boehner there is no conflict? There would be no conflict in a blind trust or some other conflict-avoiding procedure, but Mr. Boehner knows what he has been invested in, you and I do, and if we were in the same position we would act quickly to remove any conflict, even any perception of a conflict.
Your move, Mr. Boehner. The world is watching.