After countless delays and debate on both the state and federal level, Nebraska Governor Dave Heinemann recently approved a plan for a new route of the Keystone Pipeline.  The Governor’s office sent a letter to both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, informing them that he had given the green light to the latest Pipeline proposal. In the same letter, he also sought to allay any environmental concerns by pointing out that the newest route will avoid the Sandy Hills region and that Keystone will provide “$200 million in third party liability insurance to cover cleanup costs for incidents in Nebraska.”  While this decision is sure to enrage radical environmentalists, Nebraskans should celebrate the thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in revenue this will bring the state.

Marty Durbin, Vice President of the American Petroleum Institute, knows the numbers better than anyone and said:

“The project would boost economic income nationwide, particularly in Nebraska: generating more than $465 million in new spending, increasing personal income by $314 million, and adding more than $11 million in to state and local tax revenues.”

This latest announcement is will put President Obama in a bind given his base’s illogical opposition to the construction project. One would hope that a President, whose job creation record is as abysmal as this one, would welcome Governor Heinemann’s plan. Unfortunately, it seems all this Administration is interested in is increasing the regulatory burden with new EPA regulations and job-killing legislation like the President’s Cap and Trade Proposal. What Governor Heinemann is doing in Nebraska and what other Republican governors are doing across the country is putting together common sense proposals that will put Americans back to work.