Pelosi Shuns Keystone Pipeline Inclusion For Job Bills

By Janie Amaya

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Thursday that including the Keystone XL Pipeline in a jobs bill is not a responsible way to create jobs and has no place in the bill, during her weekly news briefing.

After meeting with President Obama and the House Democratic leadership earlier in the day, Pelosi said it is necessary for something to be done before year’s end.

“The president pressed upon us, and we all agreed, that we can’t go home for the holidays until we pass a payroll tax cut for working families in our country and extend unemployment insurance,” Pelosi said.

She argued that Republicans continue to resist a federal tax cut that could help million Americans and said it is just not right.

“The Congressional Republicans are holding up a payroll tax cut that will help 160 million Americans. They are holding that up because they want to protect tax cuts for the wealthiest 300,000,” Pelosi said.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he is in agreement with President Obama that the American people can not  wait on jobs any longer.

“We agree whole-heartedly with the president. The Keystone Pipeline project will create tens and thousands of jobs immediately. It has bipartisan support in the House and the Senate,” Boehner said.
   
However, Pelosi said, “Republicans are trying to associate themselves with the tax cuts, but not without injecting… ‘poison pills’ into the legislation they know will not possibly pass the Senate.”