Washington, DC -- U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the top Republican on the Joint Economic Committee and a senior member of the House Ways & Means Committee, issued the following response to the Obama Administration's decision to reject Canada's Keystone XL pipeline permit.

"From an economic standpoint and America’s energy security, this decision makes no sense." said Brady. "The Obama economy continues to struggle and millions of Americans continue to look for work. Why is he turning down jobs in energy, reliably produced in our backyard?"

"For three years, the administration has dithered, as this project has been studied to death and every opposition to it answered to the satisfaction of experts," added Brady. "This is -- at best -- a short-sighted decision, and at worst -- the kind of crass political pandering that turns so many people off on politics and virtually everything that comes out of Washington."

Approving Keystone XL would provide a significant boost to US energy security, according to a recent study which estimates the pipeline would provide an additional 830,000 barrels of oil per day -- or about half of what America imports from the Persian Gulf. The study also points out that developing these oil sands to our north and expanding current pipeline capacity could create more than a half a billion U.S. jobs by 2035.

"American workers, who have packed public meetings in southeast Texas looking for a opportunity to work, have also been waiting too long to get this back of the hand from their president." added Brady. "Make no mistake, Mr. President, Americans know how our economy works and they understand the link between oil production, economic independence, national security and jobs better than the bureaucrats lecturing them from Washington."