President Obama said Congress is at fault for the delay in the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in a Thursday speech on energy in Cushing, Okla.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Unfortunately, Congress decided they wanted their own timeline. Not the company. Not the experts, but members of Congress who decided this might be a fun political issue, decided to try to intervene and make it impossible for us to make an informed decision.
The president twice rejected Republican efforts to advance construction on the pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.
Obama announced this week the administration will expedite construction of the southern portion of the pipeline. TransCanada, however, announced in February it would begin work on that portion by early summer of this year, the construction of which does not require approval from the State Department.