Editor's Note: U.S. Rep. Paul Broun represents the 10th Congressional District of Georgia. That district currently includes more than a dozen counties in the northeast portion of the state. Due to recent redistricting, Dacula will become part of the 10th Congressional District next year as will Barrow and Walton counties and part of Newton County. 

Dear Editor,
 
The American people deserve more. You deserve real solutions. You deserve a stable and secure business environment. You deserve an economy where everyone benefits and where hard work is still rewarded. And you deserve results instead of rhetoric. 
 
Unfortunately, President Obama’s words all too often fail to match reality. In his State of the Union Address, he said, “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy – a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.”  Yet, six days prior, he rejected TransCanada’s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline and the opportunity to create 20,000 new American jobs.   

If the President were truly serious about jumpstarting the economy, he would heed the advice of his own Council on Jobs and Competitiveness who earlier this month issued its Road Map to Renewal. According to the Council, “regulatory and permitting obstacles that could threaten the development of some energy projects” also threaten jobs and weaken our energy infrastructure.  They advise an “all in” approach that includes the construction of more fuel pipelines to accelerate economic recovery.
 
But despite these recommendations from the Administration’s Jobs Council, support from both sides of the aisle and more importantly, the American people, the President continues to embrace the same failed policies of more spending, more taxes, and more regulations. 
 
Thankfully, there are solutions that would fuel real jobs and real growth. My colleagues in the House and I have approved legislation that would allow us to harness our abundant supply of natural resources, develop new sources of energy, and create jobs right here at home. The sad reality is that most of these bills are stuck in the Senate, and the President has not encouraged the Senate to act.
 
The President has, however, done one thing. Upon entering office, he issued a challenge regarding his work to revive the economy, saying if he did not have it “done in three years, then there's gonna be a one-term proposition.”  I urge the President to reconsider all of the benefits of building the pipeline, and to make the rational decision that will expand our energy resources, protect our national security interests, and put people back to work.  If he does not, it’s time to hold Mr. Obama accountable for his broken promises and ensure that his first term is indeed his last.

Rep. Paul Broun

Do you agree with the President's actions regarding the Keystone pipeline? Tell us in the comments.