{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=68d0fa58-62eb-465f-88d5-009712026b11", "COCHRAN:  SIX-YEAR DELAY ON KEYSTONE DECISION INEXCUSABLE", "2014-09-19", "2014", "2014-09", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today again encouraged the Obama administration to approve the application for the Keystone XL energy pipeline, saying there is no legitimate excuse for not allowing its construction.\r\nOn the sixth anniversary of Keystone XL application being filed, Cochran joined other lawmakers in sending a letter to President Obama that argues it is \u201clong past time to make a decision\u201d on a permit allowing the creation of the energy pipeline whose construction would create tens of thousands of jobs.\r\n\u201cThe U.S. economy is not creating jobs fast enough to produce a strong recovery.\u00a0 Knowing we need more jobs, it is inexcusable that the administration would keep the Keystone project on the back burner,\u201d Cochran said.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI encourage the administration to do what is right and approve the permit for this job-creating project, the sooner the better.\u201d\r\nSince TransCanada applied for a Presidential Permit on Sept. 19, 2008, the Keystone XL project has undergone multiple legal, regulatory and environmental reviews.\u00a0 One of the last, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released by the State Department in January 2014, concluded that the construction of the pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast would have no significant impact on the environment.\r\nThe letter sent to the President to mark the sixth anniversary of the Keystone\u00a0 permit was signed by 45 Senators, who wrote that the American people and Canada, as a friend and ally, deserve better than a \u201cdefeat-by-delay\u201d approach.\r\nThe letter states, \u201cThe uncertainty created by failing to make a decision has a chilling effect on other investment and infrastructure development in our country and holds back the economy.\u00a0 The defeat-by-delay approach not only hurts this project, but also discourages other investment throughout the country, costing our country jobs.\u201d\r\n\"Mr. President, six years is too long.\u00a0 We urge you to approve the Keystone LX pipeline immediately,\u201d it concludes.\r\nOn May 1, Cochran joined 56 Senators in introducing bipartisan legislation (S.2280) to expedite permitting for the Keystone Pipeline using congressional authority enumerated in the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8.\u00a0 With passage of this legislation, a presidential permit would no longer be needed to approve the project.\u00a0 The bill has been added to the Senate calendar of business but the Democratic Majority Leader has not agreed to call it up for debate or a vote.\r\nA copy of the letter is available below.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=68d0fa58-62eb-465f-88d5-009712026b11"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9657430239021778, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}