{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://morgangriffith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398366", "Congressman Griffith's Weekly E-Newsletter 11.17.14", "2014-11-17", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Morgan Griffith", "G000568", "morgangriffith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Keystone XL Pipeline \u2013 Solutions On Friday, November 14, the House of Representatives again passed legislation (H.R. 5682) to approve the application for the Keystone XL pipeline, which has been slow-walked by President Obama and the State Department for more than six years.\u00a0 This is despite other pipeline projects requiring a Presidential Permit having taken 18 to 24 months to review and approve. The House has now voted nine times to advance this landmark jobs and energy project.\u00a0 31 House Democrats voted in favor of this bill, and the Senate is now expecting to consider a similar measure. At a recent press conference in Myanmar, President Obama is reported as having said that his position hasn\u2019t changed on the Keystone pipeline.\u00a0 As far as I am aware, however, he has not taken an opinion publicly, only saying that the proposed pipeline should be studied more.\u00a0 According to the New York Times, the President said in a major speech on the environment in the summer of 2013 that \u201c\u2026he would approve the pipeline only if it would not \u2018significantly exacerbate\u2019 the problem of carbon pollution.\u00a0 He said the pipeline\u2019s net effects on the climate would be \u2018absolutely critical\u2019 to his decision.\u201d Of course, the State Department in late January found \u2013 again \u2013 that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would not significantly worsen carbon pollution.\u00a0 And yet the President has not made a decision. The pipeline has been studied, and the facts are in.\u00a0 It is time to build Keystone XL pipeline, creating jobs and a more energy-independent North America. The House knows a solution to create jobs and energy is to work with our friends in Canada, and we have voted repeatedly to do so.\u00a0 Because there is a runoff election in Louisiana, the Senate may finally join the House in agreeing to this solution for jobs and energy.\u00a0 Then we\u2019ll see what the real opinion of the President is when he gets his chance to use his pen and veto this pro-jobs bill.  \nObama Makes \u201cWimpy\u201d Deal with China Remember \u201cWimpy\u201d from Popeye, who would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today? \u201cIn a surprise announcement Wednesday in Beijing, Mr. Obama and President Xi Jinping of China, the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, released their targets for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions more than a decade down the road,\u201d reports the Wall Street Journal.\u00a0 \u201cUnder the proposals, Chinese emissions of carbon dioxide would peak by around 2030, while the U.S. would cut emissions by more than a quarter between 2005 and 2025.\u201d In other words, China is saying it will gladly cut the increase in its carbon footprint in a couple of decades in exchange for the United States enacting policies today that will continue damaging our economy. And in 2030, new Chinese leadership may well decide this non-binding agreement is not to their liking. Soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said of the proposals, \u201c\u2026as I read the agreement, [it] requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years while these carbon regulations are creating havoc in my state and other states around the country.\u201d I agree with him and others saying that this agreement is just the opening up of a new front on the Obama Administration\u2019s war on affordable, reliable energy.\u00a0 The President\u2019s policies are already hurting jobs and the American people.\u00a0 Mr. President, do you really need to add insult to injury by pretending the Chinese will curb the increase in their carbon output? I will continue fighting these policies, and will fight to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency.\u00a0 I will support legislation that will help American businesses create jobs. Obamacare \u2013 An Update According to The Hill, health insurance premium data provided to the Administration by June 30 was finally released on Friday, November 14.\u00a0 That\u2019s right \u2013 they had it for four months and let the public see it less than 12 hours before Obamacare open enrollment began.\u00a0 Not much time to review before trying to buy Obamacare insurance, is it? Further, data shows premiums are going up for most Virginians. In other words, if you like your Obamacare plan and wish to keep it, you may have to pay more in order to do so. President Obama said last month that his policies were on the ballot in the November midterm elections.\u00a0 Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said earlier this year about Obamacare, \u201cI believe it\u2019s a winner.\u201d However, many Americans \u2013 myself included \u2013 strongly disagree. As always, if you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.\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": ["http://morgangriffith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398366"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8532651700079441, "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"}