House Speaker John Boehner got testy Tuesday over the proposed Keystone Pipeline, castigating the Obama administration for not having approved the project yet.
"Complex? You think the Keystone Pipeline is complex?!" Boehner responded to a questioner. "It's been under study for five years! We build pipelines in America every day. Do you realize there are 200,000 miles of pipelines in the United States?"
The speaker went on: "And the only reason the president's involved in the Keystone Pipeline is because it crosses an international boundary. Listen, we can build it. There's nothing complex about the Keystone Pipeline -- it's time to build it."
Boehner said the president had no excuse at this point to not give the pipeline the go-ahead after the State Department released a report on Friday indicating the project would have a minimal impact on the environment.
Republicans have long pushed for construction of the project, which enjoys some measure of Democratic support as well. The GOP is considering conditioning an extension of the debt limit on approval of the project by Obama.
The White House, though, has said that it has no timetable for a final decision on the project.
