In the last few weeks, your administration has postponed the implementation of several environmental regulations. Business groups have asserted that compliance with these regulations would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Last week you stated that you’ve not yet reached a decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that would transport an estimated 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. The AP reports that a State Department official hints that a decision will not be made before next year.
What considerations have caused the decisions on these issues to be delayed?
Do you think that business groups believe you won’t implement the subject environmental regulations if you win a second term?
What specific environmental impacts would cause you not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline? If you conclude that the environmental impact requires disapproval of the pipeline as currently planned, are there different pipeline routes that you would approve? If so, where and why?