On the recordNovember 19, 2014
it is good to be here. I was disappointed yesterday to see that we weren't able to move forward on the Keystone Pipeline. It has become symbolic in many ways of whether we are willing to embrace the opportunities of more American energy. The American people clearly have a sense that it is to their advantage for us to take advantage of those opportunities, for us to deal with not only our own economy, with the energy we can produce but even with our next-door neighbors. Canada is our greatest trading partner, and Mexico continues to play a bigger and bigger role as a trading partner--I think now No. 4 and No. 5 of all the countries in the world we have economic exchanges with--but friendly neighbors in North America that can produce energy in ways that meet every logical standard. I heard some discussions about the pipeline, that once this is built, even though it may create tens of thousands of jobs in building the pipeline, it will only take three dozen or so people to run the pipeline. Of course that is right; it is a pipeline. It is an efficient, safe way to transport the energy we need. But I think it is important to understand that just the jobs to run the pipeline have nothing to do in many ways with the job potential that is created when we embrace the energy potential we have. If we ask about that energy potential, the American people say yes. If we ask about lower utility bills or dependably payable utility bills, the American people say yes.…
