Every President since Jimmy Carter has been saying we must end our reliance on foreign oil, yet none have really fixed the problem. It wont be a short term fix for a problem that has taken 40 plus years to get us where we are today. So instead of going ahead with a partial solution like the Keystone pipeline we say that will take too long to have an impact, so we don't do it. Instead we are now paying almost $4 per gallon and when there is lower demand we ship the stuff out of the country. Wonder if the pipeline was built would the refined product remain here or would it be loaded onto tankers and shipped to India and China?

Maybe we should consider adding a 50% tax on every gallon shipped out of the US. That might help the balance of trade and reduce our deficit.