John Barrasso Weekly Republican Address TEXT PODCAST VIDEO 12/17/11

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT: John Barrasso Weekly Republican Address TEXT PODCAST VIDEO 12/17/11

Hi. I'm John Barrasso, United States Senator for Wyoming.

As we begin the holiday season, we're reminded of those who are far from home serving our country in the military. We've welcomed many back home, but there are still men and women in dangerous places protecting our freedoms and keeping us safe.

This Thanksgiving, I had the special opportunity to visit Wyoming National Guard troops deployed overseas. We talked about their mission and their hopes for the future.

What these soldiers were most concerned about was whether they would be able to find a good job when they return.

Here at home, Republicans are working on legislation that will make it easier and cheaper for the private sector to create jobs for all Americans.

For example, the creation of the Keystone Pipeline, a shovel-ready American energy project. It will create as many as 20,000 construction jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs and it will strengthen our nation's energy security.

Keystone would allow us to transport 700,000 barrels of oil a day from our northern neighbor Canada to refineries in the United States. Having a steady source of energy from our friend and ally here would make us less dependent on energy from the volatile Middle East and that is good for America.

Everyone from members of the United States Chamber of Commerce to members of Labor Unions support this project.

But the President has threatened to veto this bill because the pipeline is opposed by a number of extreme environmental groups.

These are the same groups who in the past have supported the President and he needs their support for his reelection.

It appears that President Obama is opposing these new American jobs in order to try to save his own job. It's time for the President to stop playing politics.

After repeatedly saying, 'We Can't Wait' for American job creation, the President now wants Americans to wait on the jobs from the pipeline until after next year's election.

Canada has made it clear, if we don't build this pipeline, the United States will lose these jobs and Canada will sell the oil to China. And we will be forced to get more of our energy from the Middle East.

If the President successfully blocks these new jobs, it will only add to his long list of bad economic decisions for our country.

While the President may have inherited a bad economy, he has made it worse.

Earlier this week, in a '60 Minutes' interview, the President said that he has not overpromised. His record shows otherwise.

His Administration projected that his $800 billion failed stimulus bill would keep unemployment below 8 percent. Almost three years later, under the Obama economy, the unemployment rate is 8.6 percent and it has been over 8 percent for a record 34 straight months.

He promised that he would cut spending. But in less than three years as President, America's national debt has increased so much that we have to borrow almost $3 million every minute -- a lot of it from China.

He promised that his health care law would lower premiums for families, but since his inauguration, premiums have increased more than $2,200.

He promised to create a new era of bipartisanship in Washington, and now he wants to veto a bill that both Democrats and Republicans enthusiastically support.

Americans deserve better. Americans want real solutions and good jobs.

The Keystone pipeline is a real solution that President Obama should embrace immediately to create new jobs across America.

The House of Representatives has now passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation bill. This bill gives the President everything he has claimed to be for.

It extends payroll tax relief for hard working Americans.

It helps those who are still looking for work.

And it is paid for by actually cutting government spending.

Most Americans want their government to be smaller, not larger; they want their taxes to be lower, not higher.

We are a strong and resilient nation. We will weather this storm.

To get Americans back to work, small business owners need a level of predictability that they just don't have with this President and this Administration.

We need more from the White House than threats to veto a bill that would create 20,000 jobs for Americans.

Thanks for listening.

VIDEO CREDIT: gopweeklyaddress