CBS reporter Mark Knoller grilled the White House Wednesday over the long delay over the State Department's final decision to approve or disapprove construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, pointing out Congress had just two months to review the Iran nuclear deal.
The review of the project by the State Department has stretched into years.
"Has the president never questioned what in the world is taking so long for the State Department to come to a conclusion at this? It's been years," Knoller said.
"I don't know if there have been extensive discussions about this," spokesman Josh Earnest said. "There have been a number of things that have slowed the consideration of this particular project ... But in terms of the timing of when a decision would be announced, I just don't have anything for you."
"And would you take issue with an assertion that the president is happy to let the State Department take its time coming to a decision?" Knoller asked.
"I think the president would have the expectation that the State Department would fulfill the responsibility that they have to carefully consider the consequences of this particular project and the potential benefits of the project, and evaluate whether or not it is in the broad national interest of the United States for the project to go forward," Earnest replied.
Knoller pointed out, to laughter from the rest of the assembled press corps, that the State Department has had years to mull its decision whereas Congress got just 60 days on the Iran nuclear deal. Earnest retorted that the State Department had a legal responsibility to decide whether to sign off on Keystone, where Congress was given a 60-day "window of opportunity to undermine" the Iran deal if they so chose.
The pipeline has been a hot political issue over the past few years, with left-wing activists claiming it would affect the environment and contribute to climate change. Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state when it was initially commissioned, said this week that she opposed it after months of dodging the question. President Obama vetoed a measure green-lighting its construction in February.
The Wall Street Journal reported in January 2014 that an Obama administration review found the Keystone Pipeline probably would not alter the amount of oil ultimately removed from Canadian oil sands, bolstering arguments it would not contribute to climate change.
Full exchange:
MARK KNOLLER: Following up on Kevin and Keystone, has the president never questioned what in the world is taking so long for the State Department to come to a conclusion at this? It's been years.
JOSH EARNEST: I don't know if there have been extensive discussions about this. There have been a number of things that have slowed the consideration of this particular project. One of them is that there was an ongoing court case in Nebraska about the particular root of the pipeline, but this is something the president is regularly updated on. But in terms of the timing of when a decision would be announced, I just don't have anything for you.
KNOLLER: And would you take issue with an assertion that the president is happy to let the State Department take its time coming to a decision?
EARNEST: I think the president would have the expectation that the State Department would fulfill the responsibility that they have to carefully consider the consequences of this particular project and the potential benefits of the project, and evaluate whether or not it is in the broad national interest of the United States for the project to go forward.
KNOLLER: You only gave Congress 60 days to talk to decide about Iran and the nuclear deal. But the State Department's taking years on this project.
EARNEST: Well, the difference is the State Department has a responsibility to specifically sign off on the project, and that is what's described in the law. Congress, as we discussed, based on the law that they wrote and they passed themselves, did not have the responsibility to sign off on the Iran deal. They were, however, given a 60-day window of opportunity to undermine the deal if they chose to do so. Fortunately, they did not.